LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



OUR GOYERl^MENT 



HOW IT GREW, WHAT IT DOES, AND 
HOW IT DOES IT 



BY 



JESSE MACY, A.M. 

Professor of Constitutional History and Politicat. Economy 
IN Iowa College 



y 



i^efaiscli lEtJttian 




ii^.,^^N(3'rC^- 



BOSTON, U.S.A. 

PUBLISHED BY GINN & COMPANY 

1891 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, by 

JESSE MACY, 
in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



All Rights Reserved. 



Typography by J. S. Cushing & Co., Boston, U.S.A. 



Presswork by Ginn & Co., Boston, U.S.A. 



PREFACE. 



A CHILD who has been well instructed in Geography 
knows already something about a school district and other 
local governments around him ; he has some knowledge of 
the state and of the United States. This book is designed 
to extend the knowledge of all these institutions and teach 
something of their relations to each other. 

The governmental institutions of our entire system are 
so related that no one of them can be thoroughly under- 
stood without a knowledge of all. The institutions directly 
affecting the citizen in his ordinary civil relations are chiefly 
those of the state and the local governments within it. 
Many useful lessons in civil government may be learned 
from the state alone ; yet the action of the state is in some 
cases conditioned upon the action of the general govern- 
ment. On the other hand, to limit instruction in civil 
government to the Constitution of the United States pre- 
sents more serious difficulties. The Constitution assumes 
the existence of the states and provides for a supplemen- 
tary government. It cannot be rightly understood without 
a knowledge of the states. To attempt to teach the Federal 

Constitution without this knowledge results naturally in 

« 

the teaching of error. 



IV PREFACE. 

The order of topics here presented is such that the insti- 
tutions nearest^ and naturally most familiar^ shall receive 
special attention first. In this part of the work a direct 
study of the actual institutions of the locality is intended. 
The different states and different parts of the same state 
furnish a variety of agencies. It is from the direct obser- 
vation and study of actual governmental institutions that 
a real knowledge is derived. Books are useful as they 
stimulate and guide observation and assist in interpreta- 
tion. 

When the manuscript for the first edition was sent to 
the publishers, it was with the expectation that copies 
would be printed for trial in the class-room before publi- 
cation. I have now, in accordance with my original plan, 
rewritten the book, and made such changes as experience 
seems to demand. From the publication of the book and 
its use in the schools of the various states I have derived 
the benefit of a much wider range of criticism than could 
have been secured from a trial edition. In the meantime 
several books have appeared which have been found help- 
ful in preparing the new edition. The most important of 
these are Bryce's The American Commonwealth, and How- 
ard's Local Constitutional History of the United States. 

J. MACY. 

Grinnell, Iowa, 
August, 1890. 



CONTENTS. 
Pakt I. 

ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER I. Our European Ancestors 1 

Governmental Institutions. Origin of the Township. 
Town- Meeting. The Manor. Towns and Boroughs. The 
Parish. The Hundred. Kingdoms and Shires. The County 
Court. Parliament. 

CHAPTER II. Origin of Local Governments .... 8 

Local Governments Transplanted. Temporary Institutions. 
The New England Town. New England Churches. Officers 
of the Town. The New England County. Eorm of County 
Government. Local Government in New York. In Pennsyl- 
vania. In Virginia. In the South. General Remarks. 

CHAPTER III. Origin op States 19 

Motives for founding Colonies. Eirst Permanent Colony. 
The Governor and his Council. The Eirst Legislature. Civil 
Strife. Virginia Royalists. Berkeley and Bacon. Strife in 
Other Colonies. Proprietary Colonies. Eirst Charter Colony. 
' Voluntary Associations. Struggle for the Charters. Colonies 
become States. Classification of Colonies. State Officers 
derived from Colonial Governments. 

CHAPTER IV. Origin of State Constitutions .... 30 
The Bill of Rights. Town Charters. The Grand Model. 
Colonial Charters. Rhode Island. State Constitutions. Three 
Departments of Government. Eirst Constitutions Models for 
Later Ones. Making of a New State. 



VI CONTENTS, 

PAGE 

CHAPTER V. Origin of the Federal Constitution . . 36 
Union of New England Colonies. Albany Convention. 
Colonial Congresses. Continental Congress. Articles of Con- 
federation. Constitution of the United States. Relation of a 
State to the Federal Government. Compromise. 

CHAPTER YI. English and American Governments Com- 
pared 40 

English Constitution based upon Custom. The Veto Power. 
Choice of Ministers. Submission of House of Lords. Cen- 
tralization of Power. English Cabinet the Chief Law-maker. 
Judiciary in England. 

CHAPTER VII. State and Federal Governments Com- 
pared 45 

Case of Connecticut. United States and Connecticut Com- 
pared. State and Federal Executives. City and Federal Con- 
stitutions Compared. Catechism. 



Part II. 

MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 

CHAPTER YIII. Education 60 

Origin of Public Schools. Extension of Public Schools. 
Geography of School District. Area for School Government. 
Forms of Governments. School-District Officers. Support 
of Schools. Teachers' Certificates. City- Superintendent. 
Comity Superintendent. State Superintendent. Judicial Busi- 
ness of the Superintendent. Township, County, and Normal 
Schools. State Universities and Agricultural Colleges. Edu- 
cational Work of Federal Government. Public Schools and 
the Constitution. 

CHAPTER IX. Highways 60 

Highways and the Federal Government. Areas for Road 
Management. Road Building. Highway Officers. Toll Roads. 
Road Taxes. Division of Labor between Township and 
County. Canals and Railroads. 



CONTENTS. vil 

PAGE 

CHAPTEE, X. Care of the Poor and Other Unfortunate 

Classes 64 

Efforts to limit Pauperism. Suj^port by Townships. Poor- 
Houses. Support by Counties. Difficulties. The Insane. 
Education of Unfortunates. Pederal Relief. 

CHAPTER XI. Taxation 68 

Need of Revenue. The State System. Valuation of Prop- 
erty. Boards of Equalization. Levying of Taxes. Tax- 
Collectors. Treasurer and Auditor. Licenses, Fines, etc. 
Exemptions. Reasons for not taxing Notes and Mortgages. 
Bonds should not be Taxed. Federal Taxation. Revenue 
from Land Sales. Postage. Internal Revenue. Collection 
Districts. Customs. Protective and Revenue Tariffs. The 
United States and Direct Taxes. Enforced Action. 

CHAPTER XII. Towns and Cities 78 

Meaning of Terms. Municipal Constitutions. City Officers. 
Work of City Governments. Independent Powers of Cities. 

CHAPTER XIII. The Choosing of Public Servants . . 81 
• Selecting Teachers. Skilled Officials Selected by Boards or 
Individuals. Elections. Voting Precincts. Canvassing Votes. 
Election of President and Vice-President. Disputed Election. 
The Ballot. The Australian System. Constitutional Provis- 
ions. United States Constitution. 

Part III. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

CHAPTER XIV. Ancient Usages 89 

What a Government must do. Union of Departments. 
Judicial Business in Ancient Townships. Hundreds and Coun- 
ties. Common Law. The King's Justices. Justices of the 
Peace. Quarter Sessions. 

CHAPTER XV. The Origin of Juries ....... 94 

The Jury and the Town-Meeting. The Jury and the Nor- 
mans. Trial by Ordeal. Trial by Battle. Grand and Petit 
Juries. Changes in the Jury. Jurymen as Representatives, 



Vlll CONTENTS, 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XVI. Ministerial Officers 99 

Reeves. Constable. Sheriff and Coioner. Marshal. Ju- 
dicial and Ministerial Functions. 

CHAPTER XVn. Colonial Courts 102 

The English System. In Massachusetts. In Other Colonies. 
Separation of the Judiciary. Choosing of Judges. 

CHAPTER XVIII. State Courts 104 

Three Grades of Courts. Courts of Equity. Tribunals of 
Arbitration. Courts of Record. Clerk of Courts. Variations 
among States. Decisions of Supreme Court. Supreme Court 
Reporter. Prosecuting Attorney. Attorney General. 

CHAPTER XIX. Eederal Courts 109 

Commissioners of the Circuit Courts. State Officers as 
Commissioners. The Habeas Corpus. District Courts. Cir- 
cuit Courts. Supreme Court. 

CHAPTER XX. Cases at Law 113 

Three Sorts of Cases. Criminal Processes. The Complaint. 
The Warrant. Preliminary Examination. Bail. The Indict- 
ment. The Arraignment. The Trial. Empanelling a Jury. 
The Testimony. The Arguments. Instructions from the 
Court. The Verdict. The Sentence. Appeals. Civil Cases. 

CHAPTER XXI. Courts and Other Government Officers. 119 

Control of Public Officers. Mandamus. Injunction. Gov- 
ernment Sued. Local Governments within the State completely 
Subject to Orders of Courts. The Memphis Case. Suing a 
State. States and Federal Courts. Case of Missouri and 
Iowa. Repudiating States. Virginia Bond Case. Suing the 
United States. 

CHAPTER XXII. Federal Judicial Business 126 

Cases in State Courts. Cases exclusively Federal. Op- 
tional Cases. Removals from State Courts. New Trial. 
Appeals to a Federal Court. 



CONTENTS. IX 

Part IV. 

MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XXHI. The President 130 

His Election. The Constitution changed by Custom, 
Succession to the Presidency. Cabinet and President. Poh- 
tical and Non-Pohtical Officers. The Appointing Power. The 
Spoils System. Objections to the Spoils System. Obstacles 
to Reform. Present Laws. 

CHAPTER XXIV. Foreign Service 139 

Treaties. Other Purchases. Boundary Disputes. Other 
Foreign Service. Constitutional Provisions. Secretary of 
State. Division of the Service. Diplomatic Service. Con- 
sular Service. .Consuls and Commerce. The Alabama Case. 

CHAPTER XXV. The Treasury Department 144 

Origin of the Department. Internal Revenue. Customs. 
Commerce and Navigation. Public Improvements. Sub- 
Treasuries. 

CHAPTER XXVI. Money and Coinage 147 

Origin of Money. Coinage. Money of the Colonists. 
Money of the Revolution. Difficulties with Standards. Diffi- 
culty Overcome. Gold Coins. Silver Coins. Minor Coins. 
Gold and Silver Certificates. 

CHAPTER XXVII. Banks 154 

Bank of North America. Control of Banks Assumed by 
Federal Government. State Banks. New York Banking Sys- 
tem. National Banks. Treasury Notes. United States Bonds. 
Bureau of Engraving and Printing. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. The Post-Office Department ... 158 

Origin of Postal Service. Massachusetts, Virginia, and 
New York. English Supervision. Franklin as Postmaster- 
General. Congi'ess takes Control. Division of the Business. 
Salaries. Classification of Mail Matter. Competition with 
Private Business. 



X CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XXIX. The War and the Navy Departments 103 

Aid to the States. State Aid to Federal Government. Sepa- 
rate Navy Department. The Signal Service. Meteorological 
Bureau. Other Aids to the Arts of Peace. 

CHAPTER XXX. The Interior Department ..... 168 
Different Matters belonging to the Department. Land Sur- 
veys. Townships. Principal Meridians and Base Lines. Cor- 
rection Lines. Sections. 

CHAPTER XXXL Other Federal Matters 173 

Department of Justice. AgTicultural Department. The 
Smithsonian Institution. Business of the Institution. National 
Museum. Interstate Commerce Commission. 

CHAPTER XXXIL Legislation . 176 

Legislature and Executive Compared in Number. Legisla- 
tive Business. Pinanciering. Local Option. 

CHAPTER XXXIII. The Constitution and the Legislature 180 
Basis of Representation. Apportioning Representatives 
among the States. Members from Territories. Representative 
Districts. Sessions of Congress. Officers of the Two Houses. 
President ^ro tempore. Speaker of the House. 

CHAPTER XXXIV. Methods or Conducting Business . . 185 
Legislation by Committees. The Speaker and the Com- 
mittees. What the Committees do. Committees before the 
House. Appropriation and Revenue Bills. Senate Commit- 
tees. Co-operation of the Two Houses. Senatorial Executive 
Business. Impeachments. ''Lobby Members." Political 
Parties in England. Parties in Congress. 

Part V. 

CONSTITUTIONS. 

CHAPTER XXXV. General Description of the Constitu- 
tion 193 

Constitution Defined. Constitutional Checks. Source of 
Authority. 



CONTENTS. XI 

PAGK 

CHAPTER XXXVI. Some Explanations of Written Con- 
stitutions 196 

Erame of Government for Counties and Townships. Organi- 
zation of Courts. ''The Legislature shall have Power." 
Commands upon the Legislature. Prohibitions upon the 
Legislature. The United States Constitution as affecting 
States. Restrictions upon Executive and Judiciary. 

CHAPTER XXXYH. Constitutions and Ordinary Law 201 
The Federal Constitution. In the States. Illinois. Rail- 
roads and State Constitutions. Lotteries. Duelling. Bribery 
and Betting at Elections. Slavery and State Constitutions. 
Intoxicating Liquors. Prohibitory Amendments. Other Statu- 
tory Provisions. Special Legislation. 

CHAPTER XXXYIII. Explanation of Special Passages 211 
Slavery. Three Classes of Senators. Electors. Yeas and 
Nays. Yacancies. Compensation of Officers. Privileges of 
Congressmen. Civil Officers of the United States. Are Con- 
gressmen Liable to Impeachment ? Letters of Marque and 
Reprisal. Bills of Attainder and Ex post facto Laws. Cor- 
ruption of Blood. The United States a Nation. 

CHAPTER XXXIX. The Silences of the Federal Con- 
stitution 220 

CHAPTER XL. Federal and State Powers 222 

Powers expressly Conferred. To regulate Commerce. The 
Liquor Traffic. Indian Trade. Naturalization of Aliens. 
Bankrupt Laws. Weights and Measures. Counterfeiting. 
Post- Offices and Post-Roads. Patents and Copyrights. Police 
Power. Military Powers. Other Grants of Power. Imphed 
Powers. Assumption of State Debts. Banks. Assumed 
Powers. Elastic Clauses. 

CHAPTER XLI. Centralization and Decentralization . 233 

The Federal Principle. 

CHAPTER XLII. Political Parties 235 

Parties in a Monarchy. Parties in Local Government. 
Parties in the State and the Nation. 



Xll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XLIII. Party Organizations 237 

Order of Development. The Congressional Caucus. Decline 
of the Nominating Caucus. State Nominating Caucuses. Con- 
ventions. National Conventions. Platforms and Committees. 
Congressional Committee. Local Party Organization. The 
Primary. The Machine in Action. 

CHAPTER XLIV. Party Abuses 243 

Difficulties. Defective Primaries. Corrupt Primaries. 
Sources of Corruption. Reforms. 

CHAPTER XLY. Minor Party Organizations 247 

Third Parties. Case of the Whig Party. 

CHAPTER XL VI. Party Issues 248 

Party Principles. Party Issues. Questions in State Politics. 



APPENDIX. 



Articles op Confederation 251 

Constitution of the United States 264 

IXDEX . • 291 



Paet I. 

ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

CHAPTER I. 

OUR EUROPEAN ANCESTORS. 

Governmental Institutions. — The American citizen 
lives under not less than five institutions called govern- 
ments. He is a member of a school district. He be- 
longs to a civil township. He may be subject to a town 
or a city government.^ He is a part of a county govern- 
ment; and he is ruled over by a state and a federal 
government. Each of these governments performs 
separate, special work, for the good of the people, and 
all are more or less closely connected one with another. 
The state and the federal government each exercises im- 
portant and independent powers ; but the school district, 
the town, the township, and the county are chiefly im- 
portant as agents of the state ; they exercise only such 
powers as are permitted by the state legislature. 

Origin of the Township. — Of the various govern- 
mental institutions under which we live, the oldest is 
the Township. Before our German ancestors invaded 

1 In New England the word town is used in the sense of town- 
ship. In many states a citizen may at the same time be subject to 
both a township and a town or city government. 

1 



2 ORIGIN OF OUE GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

England, in A.D. 449, they lived on the continent of 
Europe, in Denmark and the neighboring country to 
the south. Here the families of kinsfolk were accus- 
tomed to build their houses near together, on the banks 
of a river or near a spring. For purposes of defence, 
they would surround their houses with a rude fence or a 
hedge, which they called a tun (toon)^ whence we derive 
the name town ; and the name tun-scipe^ or township, 
was given to the village and the surrounding country. 

Town-Meeting'. — The villagers in the ancient town- 
ships of England were wont to meet in the open air and 
transact business of common interest. They adopted 
by-laws for the government of the township, new mem- 
bers were admitted, disputes between townsmen were 
settled, minor offences were punished, and lots of land 
were distributed to the various families for the year's 
tillage. At the town-meeting, also, town officers were 
chosen, such as the head-man, or reeve, and the tithing- 
man. '' Four best men " also were chosen in later times 
to represent the township in the courts of the hundred 
and the county. Not only is the township the oldest of 
our governmental institutions, but, from the part which 
it has played both in England and in America, it may 
fairly be said to be the most important. 

The Manor. — Many of these ancient townships were 
not free. A chief man, either because he was descended 
from the founder of the village, or because in times of 
violence he had gained control of the land, was looked 
upon as the lord of the township. There were centuries 
of violence after the coming of the English into Eng- 
land. They contended long and fiercely with the Brit- 
ons for possession of the island. Then different tribes 



OUB EUROPEAN ANCESTORS. 6 

of English fought with one another for supremacy. Later 
the Danes invaded England, and a Danish king con- 
quered the country in 1016. Finally, in 1066, England 
was conquered by William of Normandy. Long before 
the end of this period of violence all the lands had be- 
come subject to lords ; there were no longer free town- 
ships. The name given to a township when it was 
thought of as a lord's estate was Manor. Yet the manor 
did not entirely destroy the township ; there were still 
meetings, or courts, which the villagers attended, and 
through which they had some share in the government. 

Towns and Boroughs. — The word borough., like the 
word town^ was derived from that which served as a 
protection for the dwellings. It signifies a place of 
strong defence. The early English townships, which 
were more strongly defended or became more populous 
than the ordinary township, were often called Boroughs. 
These at first differed from the ordinary township simply 
in strength. They came to be more highly organized; 
and when the ordinary townships were subjected to the 
power of a lord, the stronger towns and boroughs re- 
tained a much larger share of freedom. As the feudal 
lords fortified their dwellings in the country, and erected 
castles to increase their power, towns and cities in- 
creased their defences and built walls to preserve their 
liberties. 

The Parish. — When the Saxons came into England 
they were heathen. In course of time, missionaries from 
Rome established the Christian religion. The church 
was organized on the Roman model of church govern- 
ment, and was supported by taxation. It then attended 
to many things now belonging to the civil government. 



4 ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS, 

The church divided the country into parishes, having 
generally the same geographical boundaries as the town- 
ship, though sometimes two townships made one parish. 
Gradually the term parish displaced, in most cases, the 
older term township. There are thus three names for 
the same area. Viewed as the territory of the original 
lockl government it is the Township ; as the area of the 
lord's estate it is the Manor ; as the area for the support 
of a church it is the Parish. Wherever the more highly 
organized borough, town, or city was established, it took 
the place of the township. 

The Hundred. — In very early times, probably before 
the English came into England, groups of neighboring 
townships were united into a larger district called a 
Hundred. It is not known certainly how the name 
hundred came to be used. It is supposed that the 
original hundreds were composed of the neighboring 
townships which furnished a hundred warriors for the 
army. As we know the word, it means simply a gov- 
ernmental district larger than a township and smaller 
than a county. There was a Hundred Court, made up 
of the chief lords in the hundred, and the " four best 
men " and the reeve from each township and borough. 
The business of the court was chiefly judicial. Cases 
too difficult to be settled in town-meeting were carried 
to the hundred court. In course of time the hundred 
court absorbed most of the judicial business of the town- 
meeting. In later times, when the office of Justice of 
the Peace was fully developed, and the county and 
higher courts were established in England, the court of 
the hundred fell into disuse, and now the name is used 
to designate simply a district. 



OUB EUROPEAN ANCESTORS, 5 

King-donis and Shires. — When the English began 
to conquer the Britons they were not subject to the rule 
of kings. In time of war a leader was chosen from 
among the chiefs, and when the war was oyer he ceased 
to be ruler. But when in England a state of war came 
to be the common condition, the leader of the army 
became a permanent officer, and received the name of 
King. The country over which he ruled was a King- 
dom. Various tribes of the English conquered different 
parts of England and founded little kingdoms. The 
petty kings fought against each other for supremacy, 
and finally all were subjected to one king. The little 
kingdoms then became parts of a united kingdom, and 
were called Shires, from a word meaning a share^ or 
part. New shires were formed by subdivision, and from 
conquests of new territory, until at length England and 
Wales were made up of fifty shires, or counties. 

The County Court. — When the little kingdom be- 
came a shire, the government, which had been a king's 
government, became a shire government. The kings in 
England did not rule alone. Closely associated with 
them was a body of men called '-'• The Wise." With 
these were often assembled in the petty kingdoms repre° 
sentative men from the hundreds and the townships. 
In the shire, instead of the king's court, there ap- 
peared a Shire Court, which was composed of the chief 
men from the hundreds, and four men and the reeve 
from each township in the shire. As the townsmen 
chose their own reeve in town-meeting, and the 
hundred court chose the hundred reeve, so in early 
times the shire court sometimes chose the shire reeve, 
or sheriff. But ordinarily the sheriff was selected by 



6 ORIGIN OF OUB GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. I 

the king. He was the chief officer of the shire, and | 

usually presided over the county court. After the ] 

coming of the Normans, in 1066, the shire court under- 
went some changes, and its name was changed to ^ 
County Court. j 

Business of the County Court. — It will be observed , 

that a full county court was composed of a large num- 
ber of persons. To it came the chief men from each \ 
hundred, and five men from each borough, and five | 
from each little township. The court met twice each ' 
year, and in it were transacted various kinds of business. i 
The cases at law which were too difficult to be settled j 
by the hundred court, were carried to the county court. j 
Besides judicial business, the court was made an agency 
of the king for the collection of taxes, the publication \ 
and the execution of laws. \ 

Orig-in of Parliament. — After the coming of the 
Normans, that body of " wise men " who were always 
associated with the king in the government of England 
came to be called the King's Council. It was composed 
of all the great lords of the kingdom, and the bishops, 
who represented the church. In the earlier times, when 
the king and his council wished to secure funds to carry 
on the government, a message was sent to the sheriff of 
each county, who was directed to arrange with the 
members of the county court for the collection of the 
tax. Often the court, before agreeing to the king's 
tax, would insist upon the grant of some favor or privi- 
lege from the king. Later, instead of sending to the 
county court for the arrangement of the taxes, the king 
directed the sheriff of each county to have the court 
select two men to represent the shire in the king's 



OUR EUROPEAN ANCESTOBS, 1 

council, and it was usually added that two representa- 
tives be sent from certain boroughs and cities. The 
county members were lords of a lower rank than the 
other lords of the king's council ; the borough members 
represented the tradespeople of the towns. At first 
they were all chosen in the county court, and they all 
sat with the older members of the king's council. But 
during the reign of Edward III. (1327-1877), the lesser 
lords from the counties and the members from towns 
and cities formed a habit of meeting in a separate place, 
and the body was called the House of Commons. The 
older part of the council was then named the House of 
Lords, the bishops being the lords spiritual, and the 
others the lords temporal. 

The Business of Parliament. — The kings of Eng- 
land could never act alone. It was by joint action of 
king and council that laws were made and policies 
were agreed upon. The chief object of the king in 
adding to his council members from counties and towns 
was to secure taxes. As the members of the county 
court were accustomed to ask favors of the king before 
agreeing to a measure of taxation, so did the repre- 
sentatives chosen in county court when they voted 
taxes for the king in Parliament. A petition pre= 
sented by the elected members, when granted by the 
king and the lords, and signed by the king, became a 
law. The House of Commons from the first has been 
the source of all bills for raising revenue. It gradually 
gained a share in the making of laws and in directing 
the affairs of the government. 

Supremacy of Parliament. — During the century 
in which colonies were founded in America, there was 



8 ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS, 

a fierce contest between the king and tlie Parliament. 
The Stuart kings claimed the right by royal decree to 
set aside laws passed by Parliament. They also claimed 
the right to collect taxes without its sanction. In 1649 
Charles I. was condemned to death by a special court 
created by act of Parliament. In 1688 James II. was 
driven out of England. The following year William 
III. was made king of England, and James and his heirs 
were excluded from the tlirone by act of Parliament. 
By these and other acts the Parliament has gained su- 
premacy over the crown. 



CHAPTER II. 

ORIGIN OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 

Local Governments Transplanted. — When the 
English founded colonies in America there existed in 
England: 1. The township with its substitutes and 
modified forms, the manor, the parish, and the borough, 
town, or city. 2. The hundred, which had lost much 
of its former importance. 3. The county or shire, 
whose government had been taken out of the hands 
of the ancient representatives from townships and hun- 
dreds, and had been committed to justices of the peace, 
appointed by the king. The former representative 
county court had been replaced by a court composed 
of justices and juries which met four times a year, and 
was called the Court of Quarter Sessions. All these 
institutions and their names were transplanted to the 
New World. 



ORIGIN OF LOCAL GOVEBNMENTS, 9 

Temporary Institutions. — Some of the local gov- 
ernments transplanted to America have been given up. 

1. The Hundred. When Ferdinand Gorges made 
provision for the government of the colony to be 
planted in Maine, he speaks of dividing the country 
into eight counties, while each county was to be divided 
into sixteen hundreds. There is also allusion to the 
subdivision of hundreds into parishes. But the hun- 
dreds never appeared. In the charter given to William 
Penn, in 1681, " Free and absolute power " is granted, 
''To Divide the said Countrey and Islands into Townes, 
hundreds and Counties, and to erect and incorporate 
Townes into Borroughs, and Borroughs into cities." 
Here again there is no evidence that hundreds were 
organized. In Delaware, which for a time was a part 
of Pennsylvania, the name hundred is still used in the 
place of township, but it does not appear that it was 
ever applied there to any other institution. In Mary- 
land there were for a time hundreds which bore a 
strong resemblance to the old English hundred. Three 
of the districts represented in the first legislature of 
Virginia were called hundreds. The name also appears 
in the Carolinas ; but the institution everywhere disap- 
peared. In Delaware the name alone survives, with a 
different meaning. 

2. The Manor is mentioned in the early history of 
many of the colonies. For a time real manors, organ- 
ized on the English model, flourished in Maryland and 
New York, but these have all disappeared. 

3. Parish was the most common name for the town- 
ship area, when the English came to America. The 
church was the most striking institution in the town- 



10 ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

ship. It required a large tax for its support, and con- 
stant care to protect its property. Wherever the 
Church of England was established in America, parish, 
or the church name for township, was the name given 
to the local government. In most cases, when the 
church became independent of the government, the 
word parish as a governmental name disappeared. In 
South Carolina, however, the name was used till the 
Civil War. We thus see that the hundred has entirely 
disappeared; with the departure of the lord from the 
township, the manor ceased to exist ; when the church 
became independent the parish vanished. The town- 
ship and county remain as local governments of per- 
manent value and general jurisdiction, and we have 
the incorporated town and the city as special govern- 
ments for dense populations. Upon these have been 
founded the states and the nation. 

The New Eng-land Town. — In no other place has 
the township reached so perfect a development or filled 
so important a place in the scheme of government as in 
New England. By transportation to New England, 
new life seems to have been infused into the remnants 
of the ancient town-meeting which had been preserved 
in the towns, parishes, and manors of England. The 
New Englanders were at first left almost entirely to 
themselves. The passengers of the ''Mayflower," be- 
fore landing, drew up and signed a brief statement, 
which was to be their guide in founding a new state. 
In their chosen home, they acted much as their ances- 
tors are believed to have acted two thousand years 
ago. They were surrounded by hostile Indians. They 
built their houses near together, and provided a com- 



ORIGIN OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 11 

mon defence. Much of the land was held as common 
property. The holding of common pasture lands and 
common woodlands by New England towns has sur- 
vived till recent times ; and in many of them the hog- 
reeve is still an annually chosen officer. The towns at 
first possessed all the powers of government. They 
were neglected by the home authorities, and not re- 
strained by any general government in the colony. 
The town of Plymouth executed one of its citizens 
for the crime of murder. The early towns were not 
set up by a central authority; they organized them- 
selves. They were also self-propagating. Groups of 
families from the older towns would unite with immi- 
grants from England, and build together a new town 
upon the unoccupied waste. When the central colo- 
nial governments began to provide for the founding 
of new towns, they followed the model of those already 
founded. The town was thus extended to every part 
of New England. 

New Eng-land Cliiirches. — The early settlers of 
New England were Congregationalists. They believed 
that, according to the New Testament, each body of 
believers so situated as to attend one place of worship 
should make one independent self-governing church. 
This fact had much to do with the life of the New 
England town. To build a church and provide for the 
support of a minister was one of the first acts of the 
new town. The size of the township was determined 
by the distance for convenient attendance upon church 
services. In many ways the life of the town centred 
in the church and the school, which was closely con- 
nected with it. At first a church-meeting was made up 



12 ORIGIN OF OUB GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

of the same individuals as a town-meeting. In some of 
the colonies, only church members had a right to vote. 
Some of the New England towns continued until quite 
recent times to support the church by taxation. 

The Town-Meeting. — In its form of government 
the New England town was a pure Democracy. 
All the townsmen met together in town-meeting to 
make laws for the township and provide ways and 
means for their execution. From the landing of the 
Pilgrims, in 1620, to the present day, the town-meeting 
has suffered little change. Church membership is no 
longer required to entitle one to vote and take part in 
the meeting; and taxes are not voted for the support 
of the church. But provision is there made for town 
schools, for the poor, for highways, for the health of 
the town, for the assessment and collection of taxes, and 
for a multitude of other local matters. The meeting is 
organized by choosing a presiding officer, called a Mod- 
erator. At the annual meeting the regular town officers 
are chosen. These have varied somewhat at different 
times and places, but the following are the principal 
town officers in the state of Massachusetts : 

1. The Clerk, whose duty it is to attend the town- 
meeting and keep an accurate record of all the pro- 
ceedings. ' He has the care of all the town records, and 
performs various other duties prescribed by the vote of 
the town-meeting or by the laws of the state. 

2. Selectmen, from three to nine in number, who are 
the chief executive officers of the town. They carry 
into effect all measures adopted at town-meeting not 
otherwise provided for. They also call the town- 



ORIGIN OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 13 

meeting to hold elections for state officers, and per- 
form other duties prescribed by state law. 

3. Assessors to make a list of the tax-payers and tax- 
able property. 

4. A Collector Avho receives the assessors' list and 
gathers the taxes. 

6. A Treasurer who receives the money from the col- 
lector and pays it out as ordered by the selectmen. 

6. A School Committee having charge of the town 
schools. 

7. Overseers of the Poor to have charge of the town 
almshouse, and furnish aid to the poor. 

8. Highway Surveyors to repair roads and bridges. 

9. A Constable who is the chief administrative officer 
of the township. 

Other officers chosen are field-drivers, fence-viewers, 
etc. 

The K"ew Eng"land County. — The general Colonial 
Government in Massachusetts consisted of a Governor, 
a Deputy Governor, Councillors or Assistants, and 
Representatives from the towns. This body of officers 
received the name of General Court. The Court was 
the general law-making body for the colony, and it at 
first attended to all the judicial and executive business 
not provided for in the towns. It answered all the 
practical need of a county government. The judicial 
business was attended to by the Governor and the 
Assistants, or Councillors. In the Massachusetts Bay 
Colony, as early as 1636, inferior courts were provided 
in four places, and in 1643 the colony was divided into 
four shires, or counties. This was the beginning of the 
New England County. 



14 ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS, 

Form of County Government. — In England the 
County Government was in the hands of a Court of 
Quarter Sessions, which was composed of the Justices 
of the Peace of the county, and the Grand Jury. It 
held four meetings each year, and, besides being a court 
for the trial of cases at law, it exercised supervisory 
control over township or parish officers, supplemented 
the parish government in the administration of the poor 
laws, the laws concerning highways, taxation, and vari- 
ous other matters. The form of the county govern- 
ments set up in America followed pretty closely the 
English model, but in New England the business of 
county government has been pretty closely confined to 
the holding of courts of law, the keeping of court 
records, and the care of prisoners. In New England 
the town still retains a large part of the business which 
in other parts of the United States is attended to by 
counties. At present the New England county sup- 
plements the town in the matter of bridges and high- 
ways, and in some places in the matter of poor-law 
administration, the business being attended to, not by 
the court, but by county commissioners elected by the 
people. Among other county officers are a Sheriff, a 
Treasurer, a Register of Deeds, and a Clerk of Courts. 

Local Government in New York. — As in New Eng« 
land, the first local governments in New York were 
chiefly townships ; but these came not from England 
but from Holland. When the English took possession 
of New Netherlands, in 1664, arrangements were made 
for the organization of counties. The name Ridings 
was given to the first three counties, after the example 
of the three Ridings of Yorkshire, England. The form 



OBIGIN OF LOCAL G0VEBNMENT8, 15 

was an exact reproduction of the English model, a 
Court of Quarter Sessions, composed of Justices of the 
Peace and the Grand Jury. In New York the town- 
ship was not so strong as in New England. The county 
court absorbed a larger share of local business, and in 
1703 a board was created to attend to its non-judicial 
business. The new board was called the Board of 
Supervisors, and was composed of one supervisor from 
each township. By this board a close relation is estab- 
lished between the township and the county. The 
supervisor is at the same time an officer of the town- 
ship and of the county. 

The form of township-county government, which 
originated in New York, has been reproduced with 
some variations in a number of the states farther west, 
in Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. Under 
this form of government there is retained a good deal 
of life in the township. There is the town-meeting 
with power to legislate on a number of local matters, 
and there is a county administrative and legislative 
bodj^ composed of town representatives. If, under this 
system, townships are made subject to counties, they are 
subject to their own official representatives ; and the 
system facilitates the shifting of business from town- 
ship to county, or from county to township, as con- 
venience may dictate. 

Local Government in Pennsylvania. — Unlike New 
England and New York, Pennsylvania organized the 
county as the first local government. Its form was that 
of the English Court of Quarter Sessions already de- 
scribed. But in Pennsylvania the justices were at first 
elected by the people ; afterwards they were appointed 



16 OBIGIN OF OUR GOVEBNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

by the governor. Being the only local government, 
the county court attended to many kinds of business 
which were not judicial. By various statutes, begin- 
ning with 1724, the non-judicial business was taken 
out of the hands of the court and placed in the hands 
of commissioners elected by the people. As population 
increased, townships were organized for the purpose of 
choosing local officers to assist the county government 
in the execution of the law. The townships Avhich 
were thus organized became an important agency. 
In some parts of the state they took the entire burden 
of caring for the poor. Township supervisors have the 
care of highways, and township assessors value the 
property for purposes of taxation. But the townships 
thus originating have no town-meeting with powers of 
local legislation ; the legislative function is exceedingly 
limited, and is in the hands of a representative township 
board. Nor does the Pennsylvania township have any 
representation in the county board, as do the New York 
townships. 

Townships on the Pennsylvania model are repro- 
duced in states farther west, — in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, 
Missouri, and Kansas. 

liOcal Governmeiit in Virginia. — For the first few 
years, the government of the colony of Virginia resem-= 
bled a military despotism. The first Colonial Assembly, 
in 1619, had in it representatives from eleven local 
areas called hundreds, towns, cities, " gifts " and plan- 
tations. From the name given to the assembly, the 
House of Burgesses, the chief local unit seems to have 
been the town or borough. Parishes were also early 
organized on the English model. In 1634 the legisla- 



ORIGIN OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 17 

ture passed an act for the division of the country into 
eight shires, to be "governed as the shires in England." 
Many things contributed in Virginia to cause the county 
to grow at the expense of all other forms of local gov- 
ernment. Those having control of affairs were de- 
scended from county families, or country gentlemen in 
England who were most familiar with county govern- 
ment. The land in Virginia was held in large estates, 
or plantations, on which a single crop was produced. 
The groAvth of negro slavery tended to perpetuate the 
system of large plantations. There existed also the 
English custom of entail, whereby the lands were kept 
undivided in a family. Towns and villages did not 
flourish. The Virginia county was the most perfect 
reproduction of the English shire to be found in Amer- 
ica. The justices who composed the Court of Quarter 
Sessions were appointed by the governor. In course 
of time the members of the Court adopted the practice 
of nominating candidates to fill vacancies. Still later, 
when the nominees received appointment as a matter of 
course, the Virginia county came to be governed by 
what was virtually a close corporation filling its own 
vacancies. Thomas Jefferson mentions counties in Vir- 
ginia where the government had fallen into the hands 
of one family. 

liocal Government in the South. — The causes 
which operated in Virginia ^o exalt the county at the 
expense of other forms of local government prevailed in 
the South generally. Political affairs were managed 
by country Esquires, or Justices of the Peace. The 
Virginia form of count}^ government became almost co- 
extensive with the institution of slaveiy. The county 



18 ORIGIN OF OUB GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS, 

court and the justices attended not only to the judi- 
cial business but also to other local matters. The state 
governments of the South were highly centralized. 
Only state officers were chosen by popular election. 
All other officers were appointed. It was not until 
after the Civil War that there appeared a general dis- 
position to establish local government on a popular 
basis. The changes in the South in recent years form 
almost an exact repetition of the experience of Pennsyl- 
vania in the colonial period. County Commissioners 
elected by the people attend to the non-judicial business 
of the county court, and, in many places, townships 
begin to appear, with officers chosen by the voters of 
the locality. 

General Remarks. — It thus appears that three dis- 
tinct systems of local government have resulted from 
the transfer of English local institutions to America. 

1. The Township System in New England, in which 
the greater part of local business is retained by the 
towns. The county has an altogether inferior position. 
The town is the local unit, and is for the most part the 
basis of representation in the state legislature. 

2. The Township-County System which prevails in 
New York, Pennsylvania, and the more western states, 
in which the business of local government is divided 
between the township and the county. Here the county 
is the chief local unit and the basis of representation in 
the legislature. Of this system there are two varieties. 
In the first the town-meeting is retained with limited 
legislative power, and the county board is composed of 
representatives from townships ; as in New York, Michi- 
gan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Nebraska. In the second 



OBIGIN OF STATES, 19 

there is no town-meeting, and no township representa- 
tion on the county board, as in Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
Indiana, and Iowa. In Minnesota the townships have 
the town-meeting, without representation on the county 
board. 

3. The County System of the South in which the 
county has been the one local government of great im- 
portance. The southern county was an attenuated 
English shire with the towns left out. 

Of the different forms of local government the New 
England town is the best for the political education of 
the citizen. In the town-meeting all the citizens have 
a direct share in transacting a great variety of impor- 
tant governmental business. The mixed township and 
county system gives opportunity for a large number to 
share in local affairs, but its chief merit is found in its 
convenience for the despatch of local business. The 
Southern system has no merit as an agency for general 
political education. Its efficiency depends entirely upon 
the character of the county justices. 



CHAPTER III. 

ORIGIN OF STATES. 

We get our towns, townships, and counties from in- 
stitutions transplanted directly from the Old World; 
but our states were not thus derived. Above the shire, 
in England, stood the general government of the king- 
dom, consisting of (1) The King and his Ministers or 
Council; (2) Parliament, composed of the House of 



20 ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS, 

Lords and the House of Commons ; (8) The Assize, or 
Circuit Courts, and other high courts. This was the 
model for the general government in the colonies, so far 
as they had a model. But during the century in which 
colonies were founded, the English goyernment was in 
a most unsettled condition. The king claimed that all 
power, legislative, executive and judicial, rested in him ; 
that it was the duty of Parliament and the judges to 
assist him in governing. Parliament claimed that the 
making of laws was its business, and that it was the 
duty of the king to observe, obey and execute the laws 
of Parliament. The judges, being appointed by the 
king, were generally subservient to his will. When the 
colonies were founded, the true character of the English 
government was not determined. 

Motives for Founding- Colonies. — The founding of 
colonies was the result of various causes and motives. 
The government and the ruling classes desired to ex- 
tend the dominion and commerce of England, and to 
make good their claims to the territory of North Amer- 
ica, against their rivals, France, Spain and Holland. To 
accomplish these ends, the kings of England were in- 
duced to grant liberal charters, and to bestow many 
favors which would otherwise have been withheld. The 
motives on the part of colonists were a desire to better 
their condition, and a love of adventure ; but their love 
of liberty and their devotion to religious convictions for 
which they had been persecuted at home, had most to 
do in determining the character of government in Amer- 
ica. Some of these colonists came with the definite 
intention of preserving English liberty by founding a 
free state in the wilderness. Many were men of un- 



ORIGIN OF STATES, 21 

usual religious fervor. They would die rather than 
disobey conscience. Persecution sent many Europeans 
to America. Persecuted Puritans and Pilgrims (or 
Separatists) founded the first colonies in Massachusetts; 
persecuted Quakers founded Pennsylvania; persecuted 
Catholics found for a time a refuge in Maryland ; per- 
secuted Protestants, from France, found homes in the 
Southern colonies. These all might have lived peace- 
fully in their former homes, if they had consented to 
violate their consciences. 

The First Permanent Colony. — Early in the seven- 
teenth century, the French began to make settlements 
in Canada. In 1606 a Company was chartered, in Lon- 
don, England, for the purpose of founding colonies in 
America. The following year this Company began a 
settlement on the banks of the James River. Accord- 
ing to the charter the colony was to be governed by a 
Superior Council in England and an Inferior Council 
in Virginia ; and the members of these governing bod- 
ies were appointed by the king. The colony did not 
prosper, and to prevent the entire failure of the enter- 
prise, the king granted in quick succession two new 
charters to the London Company. A large share of 
the government of the colony was transferred to the 
merchants who were incurring the expense. 

The Governor and his Council. — The first office of 
permanent importance to appear in the general govern- 
ment of the colony was that of Governor. The Inferior 
Council of seven, residing in Virginia, had quarrelled 
among themselves, and in the new charters power was 
centralized in a governor named by the London Com- 
pany and approved by the king. As the king of Eng- 



22 ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

land had associated with him a Privy Council composed 
of the chief men of the kingdom, so the governor of the 
colony called the chief men of the colony to assist him 
in the government. As the king and his council in 
early English history were at the same time law-makers, 
law-executors, and judges, so the governor and his coun- 
cil at first performed all the functions of a general gov- 
ernment. They made laws, they administered laws, 
they were the highest court of appeal in cases at law. 

The First Leg-islature. — In 1619 Governor Yeard- 
ley, acting in accord with the wishes of the London 
Company, called upon the eleven settlements along the 
James River to elect two delegates each, to meet with 
his council and take part in the government of the 
colony. This body received the name of House of 
Burgesses, and is memorable as the first representative 
assembly in the New World. At first the Burgesses 
sat in one body with the governor and his council, as in 
England the first representatives of counties and bor- 
oughs sat with the lords and bishops who composed the 
king's council. Later the elected members adopted the 
practice of meeting by themselves; and the governor 
and his council then became known as the Upper 
House. When Virginia separated from England, in 
the Revolutionary War, provision was made in the 
new constitution for electing the members of the Upper 
House, and its name was changed to Senate. 

Civil Strife. — As previously stated, there was, dur- 
ing this century, an almost constant strife between the 
king and Parliament, and this strife extended to Vir- 
ginia, and had much to do in determining the course of 
its history. The London Company were in sympathy 



ORIGIN OF STATES, 23 

with Parliament ; and because of their opposition to the 
arbitrary rule of the king they were the more disposed 
to establish and maintain the '^ Little Parliament " in 
Virginia. In 1621 the Company drew up and sent to 
Virginia a very liberal frame of government, giving to 
the colonial legislature important powers. The king re- 
taliated by dissolving the London Company and taking 
the government of the colony into his own hands. 
Virginia thus became a royal province in 1624. The 
governor thenceforward was appointed by the king, and 
he selected his own council and appointed the other 
judges. But the Virginians still clung to a share in 
the government through their representatives. The 
king sought to replenish his treasury by obtaining a 
monopoly of Virginia tobacco, and the legislature in- 
sisted upon liberal terms. A tyrannical governor, 
Harvey, was thrust out of the colony for wrong-doing 
in 1636, but was immediately restored by the king. 

Virg-inia Royalists. — Many of the Virginians were 
descended from families of the English nobility; and 
while they were pleased to have their own Avay in 
colonial affairs, they had strong sympathies with the 
king in his struggle with Parliament. They were hor- 
rified at the beheading of Charles L, in 1649. The 
legislature passed a resolution inviting Charles II. to 
come to Virginia. Parliament immediately sent out 
a commission to bring into submission the rebellious 
colony. The Virginians yielded at once, and during 
the ten years of the Commonwealth they were permitted 
to exercise almost entire self-government. The Assembly 
chose the governors and provided for the revenue. The 
colony enjoyed great prosperity during this period. 



24 ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

Berkeley and Bacon. — When Charles II. was ac- 
knowledged king of England, in 1660, the loyal Vir- 
ginians at once accepted him as their king, and were 
rewarded for their loyalty by a long term of tyrannical 
rule. Berkeley was appointed governor, and for six- 
teen years he ruled without a newly elected assembly. 
At length his tyranny became so intolerable that the col- 
ony arose in rebellion under the leadership of Nathaniel 
Bacon, a Virginia planter. For a time the insurgents 
were successful, and Berkeley was driven from the 
capital. But upon the sudden death of Bacon, Berkeley 
returned to power, and hanged a score or more of the 
Virginians, almost without trial, so that Charles was led 
to exclaim : '' The old fool has hanged more men in that 
naked country than I have done for the murder of my 
father ! " The effect of these experiences was to lead 
Virginians to prize the privilege of self-government. 
When Parliament gained a final triumph over the king, 
in the Revolution of 1688, the Virginians were quite 
willing to take the full power which was permitted to 
their Little Parliament. When, nearly a hundred years 
later, another king and Parliament proposed to tax the 
colonies without their consent, the Virginians were 
among the first to sound the alarm and voice the senti- 
ment of American liberty. 

Similar Strife in Other Colonies. — The experience 
of Virginia was repeated with variations in a number 
of the colonies. The Carolinas were for a time in the 
hands of governors appointed by the king of England 
and certain noblemen to whom he had given the prov- 
ince. Later, the king took the province from the noble- 
men. Here, alsOj there was a contest for legislative repre- 



OBIGIN OF STATES. 25 

sentation, witli times of intolerable tyranny, followed 
by a long period of comparative freedom. When New 
York was taken from the Dutch, in 1664, it was given 
by the king to his brother, the Duke of York. For a 
time the colony was ruled by governor and council, 
with no representative assembly. Discontent and strife 
continued until an assembly was granted, in 1683. 

Proprietary Colonies. — The right to found colonies, 
and enjoy certain benefits arising therefrom, was given 
not only to mercantile companies, as in the case of the 
London and Plymouth Companies, but also to noted 
individuals. These colonies, which were called Pro- 
prietary, all proved temporary, except Maryland and 
Pennsylvania. Maryland was given to Lord Baltimore 
and his heirs, and Pennsylvania to William Penn and 
his heirs. With slight interruptions these continued 
till the Revolutionary War. The Proprietary Colonies 
were under a governor named by the proprietor, and 
during the greater part of the time enjoyed represen- 
tative assemblies. The Pennsylvania charter gave the 
people a liberal share in the government, and Pennsyl- 
vania was, from the first, one of the freest of the colo- 
nies. 

The First Charter Colony. — The part of the terri= 
tory claimed by England which was most threatened by 
rival nations, was the country between the Hudson 
River and the Bay of Fundy. The French began a 
settlement in Nova Scotia before the English settled at 
Jamestown. A little later the Dutch began a colony 
on the Hudson. The Plymouth Company failed to get 
Englishmen to live on their lands. The Pilgrim Fa- 
thers, who came in 1620, were a slight security against 



26 ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS, 

the French and the Dutch. A new " Council of Ply- 
mouth " was organized in 1620 in place of the old com- 
pany, and received full powers to form settlements in 
the territory between the latitudes 40° and 48°. In 
1629 a company of Puritans secured a grant of land 
from the Council of Plymouth, north of the lands already 
occupied by the Pilgrims. The king gave to this com- 
pany a liberal charter for the management of their col- 
ony. The company, whose real design was to found a 
free colony to resist the tyranny of the king, emigrated 
in a body the folloAving year, taking their charter with 
them. According to its terms the colonists who were 
members of the company chose their own governor, 
deputy-governor and eighteen assistants. Later, all the 
colonists who were members of the church were ad- 
mitted into the company. The governor and assistants 
received the name of General Court, and were empow- 
ered to exercise general legislative, executive, and judi- 
cial control over the colony. In 1634 representatives 
from the various towns formed a part of the General 
Court and began to assume control. Thus was estab- 
lished the oldest of the charter colonies in America. 

Voluntary Associations. — The colony founded at 
Plymouth in 1620 was a purely voluntary associatioUc 
The settlers had no authority from any source for their 
acts. For several years the form of their General Court 
differed in no respect from a town-meeting. It was 
made up of all the freemen of the colonj^, assembled to 
transact the business of the colony. In 1639 repre- 
sentatives were chosen from the towns to attend to 
matters of general interest. Plymouth became a part 
of Massachusetts under the new charter given by Wil- 



ORIGIN OF STATES. 27 

liam III., in 1691. Rhode Island was at first a volun- 
tary association founded under the guidance of Roger 
Williams, who had been banished from Massachusetts. 
For many years the government was a pure democracy, 
in which all the freemen had an equal share in making 
laws and directing the affairs of the colony. As popu- 
lation increased, a representative assembly was formed. 
A charter was obtained from the Long Parliament in 
1644. Later, when the acts of the Long Parliament 
were repudiated by the Parliament of Charles IL, a new 
and very liberal charter was granted by the king in 
1663. The first colonies in Connecticut were unauthor- 
ized associations, but fortunately they secured a charter 
from the king in 1662, which confirmed all the privi- 
leges of self-government which they had previously 
assumed. 

Strug-g^le for the Charters. — Thus the three oldest 
New England colonies came to be governed by liberal 
charters given by the king. They had a taste of tyranny 
for a brief time, under the rule of Andros, who was sent 
to New England by James IL to take away their char- 
ter privileges. But when the people of England drove 
James from the throne, the people of New England 
banished Andros and regained their liberties. 

The Colonies become States. — The part of the 
general colonial governments most highly prized was 
the representative assembly. As the people of England 
looked to the House of Commons for protection against 
kings, so the colonists looked to their assemblies. 
When, as a result of the century of strife, the Parlia- 
ment of England vindicated its right to rule, the col- 
onists recognized this right as secured to their own 



28 ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS, 

assemblies. It served greatly to confirm this view that 
the English government left the colonies in almost 
entire control of their affairs for about seventy years 
after the triumph of Parliament in 1689. When 
George III., who came to the throne in 1760, asserted 
the right to tax the colonies without the consent 
of their representatives, he was looked upon as a vio- 
lator of the English constitution. The Avisest statesmen 
in England in the days of George III., and nearly all 
Englishmen to-day, regard the king and his party as the 
real Revolutionists, while Washington and his associ- 
ates stood for the dearly bought liberties of the English 
constitution. In that contest with the king they were 
driven to renounce their allegiance to the English gov- 
ernment, and to make good the declaration " that these 
United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and 
independent states." 

Classification of the Colonies. — From the foregoing 
paragraphs it will be observed that the colonial gov- 
ernments may be divided into three general classes : 
1. Charter Colonies, as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 
and Connecticut, which were governed according to 
charters granted to them by the king of England. 2. 
Proprietary Colonies, as Pennsylvania and Maryland, 
where the grant was made to an individual and his 
heirs, in whose hands was placed the general super- 
vision of the colony. 3. Royal Provinces, where the 
king appointed the governors and exercised general 
supervision over the colony. Nearly all the colonies, 
during a part of their history, were governed as Royal 
Provinces. 



ORIGIN OF STATES. 29 

State Offices derived from Colonial Govern- 
ments. — When the colonies became states, by assuming 
independence, the governments were in many respects 
changed: 1. The House of Representatives, or the 
lower house in the state legislature, was derived from 
the colonial assembly. This was the one part of- the 
colonial governments to which the people were greatly 
attached, and it was continued in the new state with 
little change. 2. In the colonial governments the Gov- 
ernor and his Council, in addition to being the chief 
executive, served as an " Upper House " in the legis- 
lature, and were the highest court of appeal in the 
colony. A new house, called in most of the states a 
Senate, was elected to fulfil the legislative duties of 
the Governor and his Council. 3. The Governor was 
continued as the chief executive officer. He ceased to 
be a member of the legislature, and instead of being 
appointed by king or proprietor he was chosen by 
popular election, or, in a few of the states, at first, by 
the legislature. 4. To attend to the judicial business 
of the Governor and his Council, Supreme Courts were 
established. 

This general description cannot be applied to all of 
the thirteen states. As will be seen in the next chap- 
ter, Rhode Island and Connecticut became states with 
almost no modification in the form of government. 
Pennsylvania for several years had only one house in 
the legislature. 



30 OBIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 
CHAPTER IV. 

ORIGIN OF STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

It will be observed by reading a state constitution 
that it contains: 1. A bill of rights. 2. A frame of 
government, which is the essential part of the constitu- 
tion, describing the officers and their duties. 3. Various 
minor provisions defining the boundaries of the state, 
specifying what persons have a right to vote, the 
method of amending and ratifying the constitution, 
and requirements concerning schools, corporations, and 
other matters. 

The Bill of Rights. — The bill of rights has the 
effect of limiting the power of the officers of govern- 
ment by specifying the rights and privileges which they 
must not take from the citizen. This part of our con- 
stitutions is derived in part from documents memorable 
in English history. 1. In 1215, King John, having in- 
curred the hatred of all classes of his subjects, was 
met by his great lords in arms at Runnymede, on the 
Thames River, and compelled to sign a document 
which contained a summary of all the rights, priv- 
ileges, and immunities which were then reckoned as 
belonging to Englishmen. To this document, known 
as Magna Charta^ Englishmen and Americans look as 
the source of many of their liberties. In it are recog- 
nized the principle of taxation by a representative body, 
trial by jury, the right to speedy trial,' and compensation 
for property taken for public purposes. 2. The Peti 
tion of Right, exacted by the House of Commons from 



OBIGIN OF STATU CONSTITUTIONS, 31 

Charles I. in 1628, defined some of these rights more 
clearly, and denied to the government the right to 
quarter troops upon citizens in time of peace. 3. The 
Habeas Corpus Act passed in 1679 made it more diffi- 
cult for the government to keep a citizen in prison 
without just cause. According to this act one who 
thinks himself unjustly imprisoned may apply to any 
court in the vicinity for the privilege of the writ of 
habeas corpus. It then becomes the duty of the court 
to issue an order commanding an officer to bring the 
body of the prisoner into court and show cause why he 
is held; and if sufficient cause is not shown, the court 
must require his release. 4. Last of these documents 
is the Bill of Rights, drawn up by Parliament at the 
time of the final triumph over the Stuart kings, in 
1689, from which both the name and the form of this 
part of the American state constitutions have been de- 
rived. 

Town Charters. — There is little in the general 
government of England from which the idea of a writ- 
ten frame of government may be derived. The Eng- 
lish frame of government is not committed to writing. 
But there are certain minor and local documents which 
have an important relation to American state constitu- 
tions. William the Conqueror addressed to the Port- 
Reeve and burghers of London, French and English, 
the following : " I do you to wit that I will that ye 
twain [English and French] be worthy of all that ye 
were worthy of in King Eadward's day ; and I will that 
every child be his father's heir, after his father's day ; 
and I will not endure that any man offer any wrong to 
you. God keep you." This would seem a pretty lean 



32 ORIGIN OF Oim GOVEBN MENTAL INSTITUTIONS, 

constitution for a town, yet it is the beginning of that 
remarkable series of documents, known in history as 
the charters of English towns. These charters not only 
granted rights and privileges, but many of them con- 
tained a frame of government for the town. 

The Grand. Model, — One of the first documents to 
receive the name of constitution in America was the 
famous Grand Model prepared by John Locke in 1669. 
This was called " The Fundamental Constitutions of 
Carolina." It was certainly an elaborate paper consti- 
tution. The Englishmen who were expected to live 
according to its provisions paid little attention to it. 
They went right on, making constitutions after the 
manner of their ancestors, by forming such habits of 
government as their circumstances seemed to require. 

Colonial Charters, — The charters given to the Lon- 
don and Plymouth companies were not different from 
other charters which kings had granted to guilds and 
mercantile companies in the towns and cities of Eng- 
land; yet they contained an outline of a constitution 
for an American colony. The charter given to the 
Massachusetts Bay Company was transferred to Amer- 
ica and used as a written constitution for the colony ; 
and when Massachusetts became a state the colonial 
charter, granted by William III. in 1691, served as a 
model for the state constitution. The people of Con- 
necticut had a most liberal charter; and, when the 
Revolutionary War broke out, the legislature put forth 
this declaration: "The people of this state being, by 
the providence of God, free and independent, having 
the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves as 
a free, sovereign, and independent state ; and having 



ORIGIN OF STATE CONSTITUTIONS, 33 

from their ancestors derived a free and excellent con- 
stitution of government, whereby the legislature de- 
pends on the free and annual election of the people, 
they have the best security for the preservation of their 
civil and religious rights and liberties." Then follows 
an act adopting the charter given by Charles II. as 
'' the civil constitution of the state, under the sole au- 
thority of the people thereof, independent of any king 
or prince whatever." This act remained in force till 
1818, when by a small majority the people displaced 
the old constitution by a new one. 

Rhode Island. ^ — The colony of Rhode Island like= 
wise had a liberal charter given by the same king. At 
the time of the Revolution they do not appear even to 
have taken the trouble to adopt their old charter as 
their state constitution, but went right on using it as 
the constitution until 1842. When the attempt was 
made to dispense with the charter and adopt a new con- 
stitution, it created such a turmoil that it was necessary 
to invoke the aid of the federal government to preserve 
order till the state adopted its modern organic law. 

The State Constitutions. — With the exception of 
Rhode Island and Connecticut each of the thirteen 
states framed and adopted a state constitution. In 
nearly all cases this was done by a convention of dele- 
gates chosen for the purpose. The constitution when 
framed was commonly adopted by the convention, and 
was carried into effect by its order. In some cases, how- 
ever, it was submitted to the people for ratification. 

These constitutions renounce the authority of the 
king of England, and set forth the doctrine that all 
government of right belongs to the people. Some of 



34 ORIGIN OF OUB GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

them state that government is a social compact "by 
which the whole people covenants with each citizen, 
and each citizen with the whole people." In these 
documents may be found a statement of all the rights 
ever claimed by Englishmen. The bill of rights is, in 
some cases, separate from the constitution. The con- 
vention of New Jersey " agreed upon a set of charter 
rights and the form of a constitution in the manner 
following," etc. North Carolina presents first a long 
bill of rights, and then, under a separate title, " The 
Constitution, or Form of Government, etc." 

These constitutions refer to the people as the source 
of authority. In some cases they record that the fram- 
ers are acting in accordance with the recommendation 
of the Continental Congress. New Jersey alludes to 
the Congress as " the supreme council of the American 
colonies." New York quotes entire the act of the Con- 
tinental Congress recommending the colonies to form 
governments of their own, and also the whole Declara- 
tion of Independence. 

The Three Departments of Government. — In all 
these constitutions provision was made for the three de- 
partments of government, — Legislative, Executive, and 
Judicial. In all except Pennsylvania the legislature 
had two houses. In some cases the chief executive oflfi- 
cer was chosen by the legislature. Maryland put into the 
bill of rights the doctrine " that the legislative, execu- 
tive, and judicial powers of government ought to be 
forever separate and distinct from each other." And 
yet, in the body of the constitution, the House of Dele- 
gates was empowered to " commit any person, for any 
crime, to the public jail, there to remain till he be dis- 



ORIGIN OF STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 35 

charged by due course of law " ; and there are other 
provisions conferring judicial power on the legislature. 
The doctrine of the three distinct departments of gov- 
ernment was most explicitly stated in the constitution of 
Virginia. 

The First State Constitutions Models for Liater 
Ones. — These state constitutions, framed by the people 
of the thirteen original states when the Revolution 
threw them upon their own resources, have served as 
models for the federal Constitution, and for all the 
other state constitutions which have since been made. 
New states have been formed by the division of other 
states, and out of territory which never was connected 
with any state. Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ala- 
bama, and Mississippi were made from the territory of 
older states. Maine was taken from Massachusetts, 
and West Virginia from Virginia. The greater part of 
the other states have been organized out of United 
States territory. Texas was annexed to the United 
States with a constitution already formed. 

The Making" of a Xew State. — The ordinary process 
by which a state comes into existence is as follows: 
Citizens of the United States, entering unoccupied terri- 
tory, make for themselves such government as they can. 
When sufficiently numerous, they are supplied with a 
territorial government by act of Congress. As the 
population increases, and a desire arises for a state gov- 
ernment. Congress passes what is called " an enabling 
act." In pursuance of this act, the people of the terri- 
tory agree upon a state constitution, and, if it is ap- 
proved by Congress, the territory becomes a state. In 
some instances, however, the people in the territory of 



36 OBIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

a proposed state have adopted a constitution, and have 
been admitted by Congress without an enabling act. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE ORIGIN OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 

The Union of New Eng^land Colonies. — A notable 
attempt to form a confederation among English colonies 
in America occurred in 1643, between the colonies of 
Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven. 
Representatives from these colonies met and drew up a 
constitution, providing for mutual protection and the 
distribution of burdens, for the return to each colony 
of escaped criminals and servants, and for various other 
matters of common interest. Two commissioners were 
chosen from each colony to exercise the powers granted 
by the constitution. But the constitution provided that 
the colonies should " each of them, in all respects, have 
peculiar jurisdiction and government within their limits 
respectively." It seems to have been difficult, in prac- 
tice, to maintain a general government which could act 
efficiently, and at the same time leave each local govern- 
ment in all respects independent. 

The Albany Convention. — War and common dan- 
gers made it desirable to have a general government for 
all the English colonies in America. Before the begin- 
ning of the great contest between England and France 
for the possession of North America, the English gov- 
ernment recommended to the colonies in America the 
formation of a union for common defence. Representa- 



OBIGIN OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 37 

tives from a number of the colonies met in Albany in 
1754, and adopted a plan of union subject to the ap- 
proval of the English government and the separate 
colonies. The English government rejected the plan, 
because it gave too much power to the proposed colo- 
nial government; and the colonies rejected it because 
it gave too much power to England. 

Colonial Congresses. — The wars between the Eng- 
lish and the French had habituated the colonies to united 
action in war. The attempt of the English government 
to violate their constitutional rights, by taxing them 
without their consent, soon taught them to consult and 
act together in matters of civil government. In the 
Congress of 1765 the representatives from the colonies 
gave united expression to their views. In the ten years 
following, the colonists were agitating for their rights 
under the English Constitution. They agreed upon 
plans of opposition to British tyranny, and carried them 
into effect by voluntary associations and by the force of 
public opinion. A congress met in 1774, and gave full 
expression to colonial sentiment, and before adjourning 
recommended another congress on the tenth of May, 
1775. 

The Continental Congress. — This body of repre- 
sentatives, coming together soon after the battle of Lex- 
ington, assumed the name of Continental Congress for 
the United Colonies of America, and began at once to 
act as a government. They voted to raise armies, ap- 
point generals, issue paper money, and did whatever the 
exigencies of the time seemed to demand. In the fol- 
lowing year the Congress passed the Declaration of 
Independence. There was no written federal consti- 



38 ORIGIN OF OUB GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

tution. Each state was engaged in forming and 
administering a constitution for itself. It was but 
natural, therefore, that there should be an attempt to 
form a written federal constitution. 

The Articles of Confederation. — The Articles of 
Confederation were adopted by Congress in 1778, but 
were not ratified until near the close of the war. This 
constitution proved to be unsatisfactory. It left the 
states sovereign, free, and independent. No adequate 
provision was made for the enforcement of federal laws. 
There was a federal debt, and no means of payment. 
There were disputes between the states which threat- 
ened civil war. Each state had a separate system of 
duties and imposts, which led to great confusion in com- 
merce. The paper money issued by Congress had 
wrought such injustice as to madden multitudes to the 
point of rebellion. The statesmen of the period pre- 
ferred to hold office in the state legislature rather than 
in the Continental Congress. The confederacy was on 
the point of dissolution when a movement was begun to 
amend the constitution. 

The Constitution of the United States. — The men 
who met in Philadelphia in 1787 to amend the Articles 
of Confederation had already had several years of ex- 
perience in making, amending, and administering the 
written constitutions of their respective states. The 
document which was the result of their deliberations 
was, in many of its features, modelled after the state 
constitutions. There were the three departments of gov- 
ernment ; there were two houses in the Legislature, the 
upper house chosen in a different way from the lower ; 
the Chief Executive chosen by special electors selected 



OBIGIN OF THE FEBEBAL CONSTITUTION, 89 

for the purpose ; the Judiciary appointed by the Execu- 
tive and confirmed by the Senate. All these and many 
other features of the federal Constitution were to be 
found in one or another of the state constitutions. In 
large part, the making of the United States Constitution 
consisted simply in a judicious selection from existing 
state constitutions. 

The Relation of a State to the Federal Govern- 
ment, — One great difficulty encountered by the f ramers 
of the new constitution was the adjustment of power 
between the states and the federal government. Some 
thought it necessary to destroy all independent state 
power, to wipe out state lines, and make one homo- 
geneous government. According to the view of these 
men, the states should hold the same relation to the 
general government that a county holds to a state. 
There were others who held that all real power should 
rest with the states ; that the states should remain sov- 
ereign and independent; that no power should be ex- 
ercised by a general government, except such as each 
state at the time approved. 

Compromise. — A compromise was effected between 
these extreme views. In the new constitution certain 
powers were expressly conferred upon the federal gov- 
ernment, and certain others were expressly forbidden to 
it. Certain powers were likewise forbidden to the 
states; and a clause was engrafted into the new con- 
stitution which declared that the Constitution, the laws, 
and the treaties made in pursuance thereof, shall be the 
supreme law of the land ; and that the judges in every 
state shall be bound thereby. There is also a clause re- 
quiring all officers in the several states to be bound by 



40 ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

oath to support the Constitution of the United States.^ 
An amendment to the Constitution declares that powers 
not delegated to the United States are reserved to the 
states respectively, or to the people.^ 

All the states were finally induced to ratify the new 
constitution. Quite as much credit is due to the firm 
hands which took up the reins of administration, and 
actually organized the new government, as to those who 
made the paper constitution. In such hands a much 
poorer constitution might nevertheless have been so 
administered as to give a good government. In unskil- 
ful hands a much better constitution might have utterly 
failed. Our new constitution was not really made until 
Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson and their associates 
had given us an actual government in accordance with 
their understanding of its provisions. 



CHAPTER VI. 

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS COMPARED. 

As we compare the government of the United States 
with that of England there appear many points of sim- 
ilarity and likewise many points of difference. 

The English Constitution based upon Custom. — 

The English have never attempted to commit their 
frame of government to writing. They consider that 
action of authorities constitutional which is customary 
or which has been determined by a law of Parliament. 

1 Article VI. ^ Amendments, Article X. 



COMPARISON OF GOVERNMENTS. 41 

The people have always claimed certain rights and 
privileges y/hicli were believed to be in accord with the 
good laws and customs of the past. After these rights 
were summarized in Magna Charta, the Petition of 
Right, the Habeas Corpus Act, and the Bill of Rights, 
people naturally looked upon these documents as a part 
of the constitution of the government. But the king, 
the Lords, the House of Commons, and the Church 
have also enjoyed by custom the right of exercising 
certain powers. When the exercise of one of these 
powers is felt to be hurtful, it has been the habit of 
the governing classes not to abolish it directly by a 
law or by a change in a written constitution, as in 
America, but by various political devices to prevent its 
being exercised for a time, and then to declare it lost 
for want of use. Thus the crown has lost the veto 
power and the choice of ministers, and the House of 
Lords its full equality with the Commons in the mak- 
ing of laws. 

The Veto Power. — There was a time when the king 
had an undoubted right to veto a bill passed by Parlia- 
ment. Kings exercised this right without question. 
As the Constitution of England is now understood, the 
crown has no such right. As a recent writer of high 
authority has expressed it: ''The queen has no such 
veto. She must sign her own death warrant if the two 
Houses unanimously send it up to her.'V^ Once it 
would have been a violation of the English Constitu- 
tion to disregard the king's veto ; now it would be a 
violation of the Constitutioii for the queen to exercise 

1 Bagehot : Constitution of England, 



42 ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

the veto power. This change in the Constitution has 
been effected simply by the denial of the right by those 
interested in the promotion of the power of Parliament, 
and by the kings ceasing to exercise the right. 

Choice of Ministers. — Again, there was a time when 
kings had the undoubted right to choose their own min- 
isters. The queen still goes through the form of ap- 
pointing them, but is really without power of choice. 
In the election of 1880, when it was evident that the 
Conservative Party was beaten. Lord Beaconsfield's 
ministry resigned. The English Constitution, or Eng- 
lish custom, requires that a ministry shall resign their 
office as soon as they lose the support of a majority of 
the House of Commons. When Beaconsfield resigned, 
the queen sent for Lord Hartington to make up the 
new ministry. Immediately the cry was raised that the 
queen had violated the Constitution, which required 
her to send for the leader of the Liberal Party to make 
up the new ministry, and the leader of that party was 
Mr. Gladstone. Now, in fact, there was at that time a 
real confusion in the Liberal Party as to who was their 
leader. Mr. Gladstone had resigned, and Lord Hart- 
ington had been put forward as leader. But when the 
campaign came on Mr. Gladstone showed himself, by 
his unrivalled powers, to be the real leader. The 
queen, we may suppose, did the best she could. She 
sent for him who had been put forward as the formal 
leader. But when the nation demanded their real 
leader, the queen complied with the demand. All 
agree now that the queen has no real choice in the mat- 
ter. This power once constitutional, is now unconsti- 
tutional. 



COMPABISON OF GOVERNMENTS, 43 

Submission of the House of JLords. — At one time 
the House of Lords had equal power with the House of 
Commons. The Lords could reject any bill passed by 
the Commons. It would have been regarded as a fla- 
grant violation of the Constitution to attempt to force 
the Lords to pass a law of which they did not approve. 
But this is no longer the case. A bill recently passed 
the House of Commons and was rejected by the Lords. 
The cry was raised that the Lords had done an unwar- 
ranted and unconstitutional thing. The leader in the 
House of Commons recently warned the Lords that he 
intended to use all the power which the Constitution 
furnished in order to carry a particular law, which was 
opposed by a large majority of the Lords. It is now 
understood that the Constitution furnishes to the House 
of Commons enough power to pass any bill, no matter 
how violently the Lords may oppose the measure. 

Centralization of Power. — Another way in which 
the English differs from the American government is in 
the union of executive and legislative power. In Amer- 
ica the tendency has been from colonial times, to place 
the legislative, executive, and judicial business of gov- 
ernment more and more in the hands of separate offi- 
cers; while in England there has been an opposite 
tendency, especially as regards legislative and executive 
business. In the time of the Stuarts, even the Parlia- 
mentary party looked upon the king as the head of the 
executive, and the king had a right to choose his own 
ministers. For centuries it had been the experience of 
the people that a bad king could thwart their will by 
refusing to execute the laws of Parliament. After the 
triumph of Parliament in the Revolution of 1688, it 



44 ORIGIN OF OUB GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS, 

became customary for the king to select his chief minis- 
ters who constitute his cabinet from that political party 
which had a majority in the House of Commons. This 
tended to harmonize the executive and the Parliament. 
But the crown still had great power. The king and 
his prime minister made appointments to the civil and 
military service and in this way controlled many votes, 
the whole number being comparatively small. Where 
patronage failed, votes were bought with money. By 
these and other means the king and his ministers con- 
tinued to exercise a controlling influence over Parlia- 
ment for more than a hundred years. By the reforms 
of 1832, 1867, and 1885, the elective franchise has been 
extended to nearly all male adults. Secret voting is also 
secured, and there are effective laws against bribery. A 
reform in the Civil Service in 1857 took from the crown 
the power of patronage and made appointment to office 
dependent upon competitive examinations. By these 
various reforms the crown has lost control over Parlia- 
ment, and has thus lost all effective power. 

The English Cabinet the Chief Liawmaker. — 
When a new cabinet is to be formed, the outgoing 
prime minister advises the queen to send for the man 
who is leader of the party having a majority in the 
House of Commons. This she does and invites him to 
form a cabinet. The new prime minister confers with 
the leading men of his party, and the various officers 
of the new cabinet are selected. The number in the 
cabinet varies from nine to sixteen. The members of 
the cabinet are members of either the House of Com- 
mons or the House of Lords. They are at the same 
time the chief executive and the chief legislative offi- 



COMPARISON OF GOVERNMENTS. 45 

cers of the government. When the cabinet ceases to 
have the power to control legislation a new one is 
formed which has the power. In this way the two de- 
partments of government which have become separate 
in the United States have become thoroughly united in 
England. 

The Judiciary in Eng^land. — If Congress or a state 
legislature should pass a law which, was in conflict with 
the provisions of the written constitution, our courts 
would rule that such a law was void and of no effect. 
An English court may not thus rule that a law of Par- 
liament is void, because to an English court there is no 
authority superior to a law of Parliament. The courts 
have no discretion; they must give effect to whatever 
Parliament enacts. 



CHAPTER VII. 

STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS COMPARED. 

The United States is divided into states and territo- 
ries, the states are divided into counties, the counties 
are divided into townships. It is natural to compare 
the relation which exists between a state and the fed- 
eral government, with the relation of a local govern- 
ment within a state to the state government. 

The Case of Connecticut. — Before 1639, several 
towns were planted on the Connecticut River. They 
were each in the possession of the powders common to a 
New England town. To supply the need of a general 
government, the citizens of the various towns met and 
adopted a written constitution, giving authority for a 



46 ORIGIN OF OUB GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS, 

general court, or legislative assembly, composed of rep- 
resentatives from the towns, a governor and a council 
chosen by the assembly, and all officers needful for a 
complete government. Before this government was 
created, the towns were in possession of all the powers 
which they chose to exercise. But in creating the gen- 
eral government they became subject to its action. The 
towns were still permitted to exercise a wide range of 
powers, but it was possible at any time for the general 
government to withdraw these powers. 

The United States and Connecticut Compared. — 
The action of the people of the towns of Connecticut 
in 1639, is similar in some respects to the action of the 
people of the United States after the Revolutionary 
War. In each case the people felt the need of a more 
general government, and in each case they proceeded 
by adopting for the new government a written consti- 
tution. There is little evidence that the people of 
Connecticut feared that the new government would 
take from the towns their power in local matters. It 
probably has not occurred to many citizens of Con- 
necticut that their town government was in danger be- 
cause the state legislature had power to destroy it. But 
it did occur to the people of the Thirteen States that if 
they set up over them a general government, the state 
governments would be endangered. To guard against 
this danger^ the plan of creating a general government of 
limited delegated powers was adopted^ and of expressly 
reserving to the states all powers not delegated. The 
integrity of the states is still further guarded hy the 
policy of executing federal laws hy federal officers^ and 
not by officers of the states. 



COMPARISON OF GOVERNMENTS. 47 

State and Federal Executives. — In the states 
where there is a highly organized system of local gov- 
ernment, the execution of the greater part of the laws 
rests not with the governor and the officers appointed 
by him, but Avith county, township, town and city offi- 
cers, elected by the citizens of the locality. The gov- 
ernor is often in no way responsible for the execution 
of these laws. If the local officers neglect or refuse 
to execute them, any citizen interested may bring an 
action in the proper court to compel them to do so. 
There is therefore a marked difference between the 
executive department of the federal government and 
the corresponding department in the states. The Pres- 
ident and the men whom he calls to his aid are person- 
ally responsible for the execution of federal laws. 

City and Federal Constitutions Compared. — Cities 
have constitutions established by state authority. In 
a large city there is a legislative body with a wide 
range of powers. There is a city executive, of which 
the mayor is the head, and city courts to decide cases 
arising under city laws. In all these respects the con- 
stitution of a city resembles the Constitution of the 
United States. In each the powers of the legislature 
are conferred by a written constitution. In each case 
there is an executive to enforce the laws, and a court to 
interpret and apply them. But there is this remarkable 
difference between a city constitution and the federal 
Constitution: there is an appeal from the decisions of 
the city courts to the Supreme Court of the state on all 
questions involving the interpretation of the city con- 
stitution. This interprets the grant of powers accord- 
ing to the strict letter of the grant; implied powers are 



48 ORIGIN OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS. 

not admitted. But in cases involving the interpretation 
of the federal Constitution, the Supreme Court of the 
United States is itself the court of final appeal ; and the 
Supreme Court has interpreted the grant of powers to 
Congress not strictly but liberally. Congress is per- 
mitted to exercise a large number of powers not granted 
by the letter of the Constitution, but held to be implied 
in those which are granted. The Constitution does not 
say that Congress shall have power to regulate railways, 
but it does say that Congress shall have power to regu- 
late commerce between the states, and railways are an 
agency of inter-state commerce. 

Catechism. — The following questions and answers 
should be thoroughly committed to memory. 

Question. What powers may be exercised by the gov- 
ernment of the United States ? 

Answer. All powers granted to it by the Constitution 
of the United States. 

Q. What powers may a state government exercise ? 

A. "The powers not delegated to the United States 
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, 
are reserved to the states respectively or to the people."^ 

In briefer form: 

Q. What may the federal government do ? 

A, It may exercise any power granted to it by the 
Constitution. 

Q. What may a state do ? 

A. It may exercise any poAver not in conflict with the 
Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States. 

The principle should be made clear that the United 

1 Amendments, Art. X. 



COMPABISON OF GOVERNMENTS. 49 

States government is one of granted or conferred 
powers ; while the states are governments of powers not 
conferred. The eighth section of the first article of the 
federal Constitution contains a list of powers conferred 
upon Congress. In a state constitution no such list is 
to be found. It is understood that a state may exercise 
any powers not in conflict with the federal government. 

Q. Just what are, in detail, the things which may be 
done by the federal government and the things which 
the state may do ? 

This question does not admit of a complete answer. 
A partial answer may be gained by learning all the 
things that the two governments have done and are now 
doing. No one can say what powers they may exercise 
in the future. 

Q, How may the federal and state governments be 
kept in harmonious action ? 

Here again is a question which does not admit of a 
complete answer. A partial answer is gained by learn- 
ing their past and present methods of action. 



Paet II. 



MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
educatio:n^. 

Orig-m of Public Schools. — The Englishmen who 
founded colonies in America were accustomed to the 
support of the church by taxation. The church was a 
part of the government. In the South the Church of 
England was established. In New England each town 
had its own Independent, or Congregational Church. 
The town chose its pastor and supported him by tax- 
ation. In some cases the pastor Avas also the school 
teacher. When another was chosen to teach the town 
school, he was employed by the town. In the course 
of time, through the multiplication of sects, and from 
other causes, the church became disconnected from the 
government ; but the work of education by the govern- 
ment was still continued. 

Extension of Public Schools. — In 1787 the Con- 
tinental Congress passed an ordinance for the govern- 
ment of the territory north of the Ohio River. It was 
enacted that schools and the means of education should 
forever be encouraged. In pursuance of this policy, 
Congress set apart the sixteenth section in each town- 
60 



EDUCATION. 



61 



ship for the support of public schools. The proceeds of 
the sale of the sixteenth section come into the treasury 
of the state ; and the state is thus committed to a pub- 
lic school system. In this way education by the state was 
extended to the West. Since the abolition of slavery, 
the Southern States have adopted a public school system; 
and the education of youth is now an important part of 
the work of every state in the Union. 

A school, from its very nature, is a local institution. A 
child cannot properly be required to walk farther than 
two miles to school. It is desirable therefore that there 
should be a school-house within two miles of every home. 

Geography of the School District. — In the country 
west of Pennsyl- 
vania, wherever 
the rectangular 
survey prevails, 
there is much 
regularity in the 
size and shape 
of the school dis- 
trict. The town- 
ship is six miles 
square. It is cus- 
tomary to locate 
a public highway 
on each section- 
line. These high- 
ways divide the 
township into little squares of one mile each, and it is 
customary to locate a school-house at each alternate 
cross-roads, as indicated in Fig. 1. This plan gives to 



• 


n 




-i 




-\ 
















n 




n 




n 
















n 




~\ 




n 















Fig. 1. 



52 



MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 



each township nine school-houses two miles apart. A 
school district is thus made two miles square, with a 
school-house in the centre. But this is an unfavorable 
shape. Those who live at the corners of the district 
are two miles from school. A more convenient method 
of forming districts, partially followed in some places, 
is indicated in Fig. 2. By this plan a district is formed. 































































n 






















































n 










































n 






























































n 










































n 




























































1 






















Ftg 


k2. 















containing five square miles, instead of four; and no 
one who lives upon a public highway can be more than 
a mile and a half from school. According to this plan 
the children living on the same highway go to the same 
school ; while on the other plan, they often go to differ- 
ent schools. But the plan makes it necessary to dis- 
regard the rectangular township as a local unit. 



EDUCATION, 63 

Area for School Governinent. — The word district^ 
as used in the previous paragraph, means the area for 
a country school. In some of the states, this is made 
the area for local school government, but in other states 
a larger area is taken. The laws of Georgia make each 
county one school district for the management of 
schools. Other Southern states, deeming a county too 
large, have created townships for this purpose. In the 
states where the township is an important local govern- 
ment these are made by law school districts. It will be 
observed that there are two distinct uses of the word 
district^ one an area for a single school and the other an 
area for school government. In nearly all cases towns 
and cities have a school government entirely separate 
from the country schools. 

Forms of Government, — A variety of systems is 
used in the management of school districts. 1. The 
district system, in which the business is in the hands 
of officers chosen by the district area for one school. 
2. The township system, in which officers chosen by the 
township have full control of all the schools in the 
township. 3. The mixed district-township system in 
which the business is divided between officers chosen 
by the smaller and those chosen by the larger area. 

Whatever may be the form of a local school gov- 
ernment, the work to be done is nearly the same in 
all. In the first place, the limits of the district, if 
not previously fixed by state law, are determined by 
the people in the locality or by local officers. The 
school-house is then located by vote of the citizens, or 
by the school officers. A tax for building is voted by 
the board or the citizens; and the house is erected 



54 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 

under the supervision of the school officers. The local 
school officers fix the rate of wages for teachers, and 
the time during which the school shall be taught. They 
employ teachers, co-operate in governing the school, 
supply fuel and apparatus, and in some places furnish 
the scholars with text-books. Some states make it the 
duty of school officers to compel the attendance of all 
children for a specified time. 

School-District Ofla.cers. — Officers of the school dis- 
trict in the various states receive the name of school 
committee, school board, trustees, supervisors, or direc- 
tors. Sometimes the business is committed to a single 
officer; more frequently to a board of three or more. 
The board organizes for the transaction of business, by 
choosing a president and a secretary. In states where 
the school funds are not held by township or county 
officers, there is a school treasurer. 

Support of Schools. — Schools are supported either 
by a state fund or by a local tax. Many of the states 
have a fund derived from the sale of the lands given to 
the state for that purpose by the United States govern- 
ment. This fund is kept by many states as a permanent 
school fund, the interest on which is distributed to the 
school districts, in proportion to the number of persons 
of the proper age to attend school. Each district uses 
its share towards the payment of school expenses. A 
tax to supplement it when necessary is voted in some 
of the states by the legislature, elsewhere by the school 
district. 

Teachers' Certificates. — One of the difficult tasks 
in the work of education is the securing of suitable 
teachers. It is found desirable to make a law forbid- 



EDUCATION. 55 

ding any one to teach in the public schools unless he 
has been examined by responsible officers, and has 
received from them a certificate of fitness for his duties. 
In some cases the examiners are the local school board. 
In other states there is a county educational board, 
which examines teachers and attends to other matters 
of general interest to the schools of the county. In still 
others, a single county officer attends to this business. 
Teachers' certificates are generally issued for a short 
time, one year or less. In some states the officers are 
empowered to issue certificates for a longer period. 

City Superintendent. — In the large towns and cities 
it is found desirable to grade the schools and adopt a 
regular system of promotion from one grade to another. 
To provide for this work, it is convenient to place the 
entire oversight of the schools in the hands of one per- 
son. In many cases the city superintendent devotes 
his entire time to grading the schools, planning work 
for the teachers, and finding and introducing the best 
methods. By the continued services of skilled superin- 
tendents, many of the city schools have reached a high 
degree of excellence, not attainable without such super- 
vision. 

County Superintendent. — In country schools the 
need of superintendence is not so apparent as in cities. 
Confusion does often arise for want of it, but it is not 
so manifest as in a city. The schools are isolated. One 
district may have a good teacher, and make rapid ad- 
vancement, while the next district may make little 
advancement. A new teacher, not knowing what has 
been taught, may go over the same ground, with little 
profit to the student. These things would not happen 



56 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL, 

under a skilled and faithful superintendent. To supply 
this need, many states have provided for a county super- 
intendent, Avhose duty it is to examine teachers and 
issue certificates, to hold institutes for the instruction of 
teachers, to visit country schools, and to advise teachers 
in their work. 

State Superintendent. — In nearly all the states 
there is a superintendent of public instruction, who has 
general oversight of the educational work of the entire 
state. One part of the duty of the state superintend- 
ent is to collect official information concerning the con- 
dition of the schools throughout the state. The officers 
of school districts are required by law to make out 
reports of their schools, and send them to the county 
superintendent. The county superintendent collects re- 
ports from all the districts in the county. From these 
he makes out a report to the state superintendent. In 
this way the superintendent is informed of the condition 
of schools in all parts of the state. He makes a printed 
report to the legislature, by which the law-makers may 
be informed of the needs of the schools. It is also the 
duty of the superintendent to suggest to the legislature 
ways of improving the school laws of the state. 

Judicial Business of the Superintendent. — The 
superintendent gives directions to local officers in refer- 
ence to the administration of the school laws. Many dis- 
putes arise as to the meaning of the law and its applica- 
tion to special cases. These sometimes occasion suits 
in the ordinary courts of law. In some of the states 
provision is made for the settlement of these disputes 
by the aggrieved parties appealing from the decision of 
the local board to the county superintendent. In case 



EDUCATION. 57 

his decision is not satisfactory, an appeal may be made 
to the state superintendent. In this way difficult points 
in the administration of the school law are settled with 
little expense to the parties interested. In many in= 
stances difficulties are avoided by the superintendent's 
publishing in advance what would be the application of 
the law to particular cases. 

Township, County, and Normal Schools. — In some 
states the country school districts are authorized to 
unite and establish a central school of a higher grade, 
to which the more advanced students may be sent. In 
some counties a high school is maintained under the 
management of a county board. For the education of 
teachers, many states have established normal schools. 
These are usually controlled by a board appointed by 
the legislature, which also appropriates money for their 
support. 

State Universities and Agricultural Colleges. — 
State Universities are maintained in many of the states. 
In most Western states these were founded by a grant 
of land for that purpose from the United States 
government. They are maintained by appropriations 
from the state legislature, and are governed by a state 
board of regents. For the encouragement of agriculture 
and the mechanic arts. Congress gave to each of the 
states, in 1862, a grant of land, the proceeds of which 
are invested according to the terms of the grant, and 
the income is appropriated to meet the current expenses 
of a college. The state receiving the grant is required 
to furnish land and buildings for the college, and to 
provide for its government. 

A large part of the work of higher education is done 



58 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 

by endowed institutions, colleges, uniyersities, and pro- 
fessional schools, without any help from the state. 
Likewise much common-school work is done by private 
enterprise, without aid from government. 

Educational Work of the Federal Government. — 
The United States government maintains an Academy 
at West Point, for the education of army officers ; 
another at Annapolis, to educate officers for the navy ; 
and a college for deaf-mutes at Washington. A school 
for instruction in the Signal Service is maintained at 
Fort Whipple, Va. Common schools are also supported 
at the various military posts of the United States. 
Congress appropriates money for the education of Ind- 
ians. In 1867, Congress established a Bureau of Edu- 
cation, to collect and publish educational statistics and 
other information for the benefit of educators through- 
out the land. 

It thus appears that the work of public education 
furnishes an illustration of the uses of nearly all our 
governmental institutions. 1. The school district for 
one country school is sometimes organized into a local 
school government. 2. The township is generally a 
school-board area. 3. Towns and cities are made areas 
for educational work corresponding to the work done 
in district, township, and county for the country schools. 
4. The county is found to be a convenient area for the 
supervision of the country schools. 5. The state is the 
source of law and authority for the public school 
system. The state also maintains an office for the gen- 
eral supervision of the schools, and it supports a few 
educational institutions of a higher grade. 6. The 
United States maintains an office for the collection and 



EDUCATION. 59 

publication of educational statistics, and supports a few 
schools for special purposes. 

Public Schools and the Constitution. — To provide 
for the education of the people is not found among the 
powers conferred upon the federal government; it is 
therefore reserved to the states. If the states should 
not choose to establish public schools they would not 
be established. The Constitution does, however, give 
to Congress power to dispose of ''territory and other 
property belonging to the United States."^ Congress 
has chosen to dispose of the public lands in such a 
way as to induce the states to maintain a system of 
public schools. The people in many of the states, in 
forming a state constitution, have made it the duty of 
the legislature to maintain public schools. 

The state government has full power to force the 
townships and counties to provide for schools. If local 
officers should refuse to vote a school tax required by 
law, they might be arraigned before a court and com- 
manded to do it. If they still refused, they might be 
imprisoned for contempt of court. But the method 
which many states employ to induce delinquent dis- 
tricts to maintain schools is quite similar to the method 
used by the federal government to induce the states to 
do so. They give money to the districts which comply 
with the law requiring schools to be kept a prescribed 
number of weeks, and withhold it from districts not 
complying. This inducement is greatest in the states 
where a tax large enough to support the schools 
throughout the state is levied by the state legislature. 
In such a case an average district would be compelled 

1 Art. IV, sec. 3, cl. 2. 



GO MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL, 

to pay money enough into the state treasury to support 
its schools during the required term, and would get 
nothing in return unless it complied with the law. 
Some of the states have succeeded in rapidly extend- 
ing the schools to all the districts, by a free use of the 
taxing power of the legislature. Others have been 
equally successful while pursuing an opposite policy, 
giving to districts power to vote taxes upon them- 
selves and maintain their own schools. 



CHAPTER IX. 



HIGHWAYS. 



Highways and the Federal Government. — A 

clause in the Constitution gives to Congress power 
''to establish post-offices and post-roads."^ Congress has 
often appropriated money for the building of bridges; 
and at one time the general government constructed a 
national road. But the development of the railroad 
system has had a great effect upon the relation of the 
general government to road building. Railroads take 
the place which would have been held by national 
roads. 

Areas for Road Management. — Railroads have 
also affected road management within the states. 
There are almost no state officers having any share in 
road management ; the business is committed to coun- 
ties, townships, towns and cities. In some states town- 
ships are subdivided into road districts. The county is 

1 Art. I, sec. 8, cl. 7. 



HIGHWAYS. 61 

the diyision to which is commonly assigned the care of 
roads in the states where the county system of local 
government prevails, the township where there is the 
township system ; while in the states having the mixed 
county-township system the business is divided between 
the two. 

Road Building". — Road work consists in locating, 
draining, and grading the road, removing obstructions 
from it, building bridges and culverts, and providing a 
dry, hard surface for travel. Throughout the greater 
part of the United States the surface of the roads is 
composed of the natural soil. This is often muddy 
when wet, dusty when dry, and rough in cold weather. 
To remove these imperfections various methods of road- 
building have been devised. The most noted of these 
is the one invented by Mr. J. L. Macadam of Scotland, 
about a hundred years ago. To macadamize a road is 
to cover the natural soil to the depth of from six to 
ten inches with irregular fragments of granite or other 
stone, not over three inches in diameter. 

Hig-hway Oflacers. — For the making and repairing 
of roads, the territory is usually divided, by law or 
by the authorities of either the county or the township, 
into road districts, in each of which a road master has 
immediate charge. In many states the duty of locat- 
ing roads, building bridges, and general supervision is 
vested in the county board, which is also empowered 
in a few states to employ a skilled engineer to aid in 
the work. 

Toll Koads. — All of the states and territories except 
ten 1 authorize the building of roads by companies, or 

1 J. W. Jenks, Vol. IV, No. 3, Pub. Am. Econ. Ass'n. 



62 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 

corporations, which are allowed to repay themselves 
by collecting tolls from those who use the road. The 
toll charges are regulated by law. This system is gen- 
erally condemned, and many states have made pro- 
visions for changing the toll roads into free public 
roads. 

Koad Taxes. — It is unusual for the state legislature 
to appropriate money for the building of roads. The 
power to do this is committed to the county board, or 
to the township, either in town meeting, or through a 
representative board, or partly to the county and partly 
to the township. In nearly all the states provision is 
made for the payment of a part or all of the road tax in 
labor. 

Those who have given special attention to this ques- 
tion are of the opinion that a large proportion of the 
expenditures upon the highways is wasted. To expend 
time and money economically upon the roads requires a 
high degree of engineering skill. To prevent waste, 
the policy of employing a skilled county engineer to 
superintend the business seems worthy of special com- 
mendation. Official supervision has been so effective 
in improving the methods of public education that a 
similar system seems well suited to the improvement of 
road building. This plan would require, in addition to 
county engineers, a state engineer, who should receive 
reports from the county engineers and co-operate with 
them in the effort to find out and apply the most 
approved methods in each locality in the state. 

Division of Labor between Township and County. 
— A bridge may be so situated as to be used chiefly 
by people of other townships. In such a case it would 



HIGHWAYS. 63 

be unjust to put the whole burden on the township in 
which it is located. In some of the states the county 
board builds all bridges, while the township makes the 
culverts and repairs the roads and bridges. Roads are 
sometimes divided into two classes : main, or county 
roads, and township roads. One class is kept up at 
county expense, and the other at the expense of the 
township. It is often difficult to determine what share 
of the cost of maintaining a particular road should be 
borne by the township and the county respectively. The 
New York plan of county and township government, in 
which the county board is composed of township super- 
visors, is well adapted to adjust the burdens of the two. 
Canals and Railraads. — Before the building of rail- 
roads, many of the states undertook to construct canals. 
The state of New York still owns several canals, and 
some other states are part owners of canals. The 
building of railroads has often been aided by appropria- 
tions from states, counties, and townships. The money 
thus appropriated has usually gone to a company, and 
the government has acquired no share in the profits of 
the road. The fact that the power to grant money to 
railroad corporations has been often abused, has led the 
people of many of the states to insert in the state con- 
stitution a clause, withdrawing from the legislature 
and from the counties, townships, towns, and cities the 
power to make such grants. 



64 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 

CHAPTER X. 

CARE OF THE POOR AND OTHER UNFORTUKATE CLASSES. 

Efforts to limit Pauperism. — The states proceed 
upon the assumption that every person will support 
himself if he is able to do so. If a person is not able 
to support himself, our state laws require his kinsfolk, 
within specified limits, to support him. In case there 
are no kinsfolk able to support him, the law imposes 
the duty on the township, the county, or the town or 
city in which he has a lawful residence. States try to 
protect themselves from the burden of pauper relief by 
fining persons for bringing paupers into the state, and 
by sending from the state paupers who have not gained 
a legal residence. A township or a county may return 
to the township or the county from which he has come 
any pauper who has not gained a residence. It is the 
policy of governments to have poor persons supported 
by the community where they were living when their 
disability arose, and where, consequently, all the facts 
in the case are best known. 

Support by Townships. — In many of the states the 
care of the poor is made, entirely or in part, the duty 
of the town or township government. Wliere the 
township has the entire care, it is customary to employ 
some responsible person to keep the poor. Overseers are 
chosen, whose duty it is to see that the laws concern- 
ing the poor are properly executed. When persons are 
in need of temporary aid, the officers furnish it, and 
encourage them to help themselves, and not to become a 



CABE OF THE POOR, 65 

permanent burden upon the government ; this is called 
out-door relief. If it is found that the government is 
required to provide a large part of the support of indi- 
viduals, they may be deprived of their liberty of action, 
and pass entirely under the control of the superintendent 
of the poor. 

Poor-Houses. — It is often difficult and expensive to 
employ persons who have suitable homes to take care 
of the poor. To avoid this difficulty, the government 
has in many cases adopted the policy of owning a farm 
and buildings upon it for the care of the poor. A 
superintendent is then chosen to take charge of the 
house and farm, and support the poor according to the 
rules and regulations of the government. Paupers who 
are able are expected to work on the farm or in the 
house, and thus diminish the expense of their support. 
This is called in-door relief. 

Support by Counties. — In case the government es- 
tablishes a poor-farm, it may be cheaper and more satis- 
factory to do this on a larger scale than can be afforded 
by a township. The business then passes into the hands 
of the county, which maintains the house and farm, 
while the county officers make its rules and regulations 
and choose the superintendent. The township may still 
be required to furnish temporary relief to the needy, 
and to pay the county for the support of each person 
sent from that township to the county poor-house, thus 
retaining the chief burden of supporting the poor. In 
other states the county has the entire burden, and 
county officers furnish the entire relief, both in and out 
of the county-house. 

Diflaculties. — The help of the poor by the govern- 



66 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 

ment seems to be a simple matter, but it is believed by 
those who have given the subject most attention that 
there are few things which the government is called 
upon to do that involve greater difficulties. Methods 
of relief have been adopted which are believed to have 
been potent causes of disaster and ruin. A government 
cannot safely assume the support of persons who can 
be taught to support themselves. It is better for the 
government to use means to prevent poverty. In the 
care of the poor, as in education and in road-building, 
it is economy, in the end, for the government to adopt 
the most approved methods, and to seek to know what 
is best before making lavish expenditures. 

The Insane. — Besides the poor, there are other 
unfortunate classes for whom the government makes 
provision. Insane persons require special treatment 
which it is often impossible for private individuals to 
provide. The care and treatment of the insane can 
therefore be best secured in homes provided exclusively 
for them, and under the charge of persons especially 
skilled in the treatment of nervous diseases. Private 
hospitals are sometimes established to . which persons 
who are able to incur the expense send their insane 
friends. But, since many are not able to meet this ex- 
pense, it becomes necessary for the government to make 
provision for them. There are but few insane persons 
in a township, and comparatively few in a county ; but 
there are many in a state. It is found to be more eco- 
nomical, therefore, for the state to provide the institu- 
tions necessary for their treatment. In some of the 
states the counties pay to the state a fixed sum for the 
support of their insane in the asylum. Many insane 



CARE OF THE POOR. 67 

persons are kept in county-houses. These are, for the 
most part, cases which have been pronounced incurable. 
A charge for the support of a patient is sometimes 
collected from relatives if they are able to pay it. 

The Education of Unfortunates. — Some states main- 
tain special educational institutions for orphan children, 
for feeble-minded children, for the blind, and for deaf- 
mutes. Special provision is also now made in many of 
the states for juvenile criminals. These are on the 
border land between unfortunates and criminals, and 
are treated by the state as persons to be specially 
educated, corrected, and reformed. For this purpose, 
reform schools are established and maintained. 

All these institutions are controlled by boards chosen 
by state authorities, and are supported by money appro- 
priated by the state legislature, which makes all needful 
rules and regulations for their management. In some 
of the states a Board of Charities exercises general 
supervision over prisons and all institutions for the 
unfortunates. 

Federal Relief. — The government of the United 
States maintains homes and hospitals for disabled sol- 
diers and seamen, and an asylum for insane soldiers and 
for the insane of the District of Columbia. 

Thus the relief of the poor and the unfortunate is 
chiefly in the hands of city, township, and county 
governments. The state provides for special classes, 
whose numbers are small, and the United States pro- 
vides for some of those in its own service, and for some 
who are engaged in commerce upon the high seas. 



68 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 

CHAPTER XL 

TAXATION. 

Need of Revenue. — The United States government 
has been the owner of most of the lands upon which 
we live. These have been sold, or have been given to 
individuals or to states. The land given to states is 
for the most part sold by the state, and the money is 
put into a permanent fund for the support of com- 
mon schools or other educational institutions. With 
the exception of the amount derived from the sale of 
public lands, the money which the government receives 
must be collected from the people. The government 
engages in no productive business ; it makes no money. 
And since the work of education, the building of roads, 
provision for unfortunate classes, the administration of 
justice, the support of armies and navies, and the many 
other things which the government is called upon to do, 
make a constant demand for a large amount of money 
or of property, it follows that an important part of the 
business of government is to collect taxes, to provide 
for the safe keeping of the money thus secured, and to 
expend it in such a way as to secure the objects for 
which it was collected. 

The State System.- — The greater part of the tax 
collected by the authority of the state is levied directly 
upon individuals and upon property. Some states levy 
a tax upon all voters, or upon all able-bodied men of a 
given age. This is called a poll tax, and is sometimes 
collected by requiring the person taxed to work upon 



TAXATION. 69 

the public highways. The tax levied upon property is, 
however, the one chiefly relied upon for the support of 
state governments. 

Valuation of Property. — To collect a property tax 
there must first be a valuation of the property. The 
following system prevails in many states : Towns, town- 
ships, and cities choose assessors, who make a list of 
all taxpayers and all taxable property within their 
respective localities. The assessors are required to affix 
the true value to all the property in the list. The value 
actually affixed to property in the assessors' list is gen- 
erally less than the real value. It makes no difference 
in the result; since, if the sum which stands for the 
value of the property be small, a proportionally higher 
rate is paid. The point of especial consequence in the 
valuation is that no taxpayer's property be rated either 
higher or lower than that of others. 

Boards of Equalization. — To correct errors, the 
assessors' list passes into the hands of a local represen- 
tative board, and errors and inequalities are corrected. 
If all the property within the township is proportionally 
valued, it makes a just list for the collection of the town- 
ship tax. But for the collection of a county tax, where 
the township is associated with other towns, the lists are 
not just unless all the towns are rated on a uniform 
valuation. To equalize the assessments of the different 
municipalities within the county, a county board re- 
ceives a copy of each of the assessors' lists, compares 
them, and makes such changes as justice seems to 
demand. A state board of equalization then receives 
the lists from all the counties, and corrects inequalities 
between the different sections. 



70 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL, 

Lievying of Taxes. — When the taxable property is 
legally valued, the various governments within the state 
can determine their rate of taxation. 1. A representa- 
tive school board, or a meeting of the voters in the school 
district, determines the amount of tax to be raised in 
the district for school purposes, and the rate of the 
school tax. 2. The citizens in town meeting, or through 
a township board, vote a tax for road purposes and 
for other needs of the township. 3. For incorporated 
towns and cities, the town or city council fixes a tax. 
4. A county board estimates the expense of the county 
government, and levies a corresponding tax upon the 
county. 5. The state legislature determines the 
amount of money necessary for the payment of state 
officers and the support of the state institutions, and 
other objects, and prescribes the tax to be paid into the 
state treasury. 

Tax Collectors. — In some states the township is the 
chief tax-collecting agency ; in others the county is the 
chief agency. Where the county system prevails, a 
county officer takes the assessors' lists of the entire 
county after they have been corrected by the various 
boards, and also an official statement of all the taxes 
voted by the different governments within the state, 
and from these he estimates the amount of tax to be 
paid by each taxpayer in the county. The book con- 
taining these estimates passes into the hands of the 
county treasurer. The law fixes the time of payment. 
If the tax is not paid before the specified time, a fine or 
penalty is added. If the tax is still unpaid after a 
further specified time, the property is sold at public 
auction. The government thus collects enough money 



TAXATION, 71 

to pay the tax and all the expenses incurred in the sale, 
and gives to the purchaser a tax-title to the property. 
The tax-title becomes a more perfect title if within a 
time specified by law the former owner of the property 
does not redeem it by paying all costs. 

Treasurer and Auditor. — The money thus collected 
by the county treasurer is for the support of school 
districts, townships, incorporated towns and cities, the 
county, and the state. The county treasurer must open 
an account with an officer in each of these govern- 
ments, and see that the money collected for each goes 
to its proper place. The treasurer is required to give a 
bond, and another county officer or auditing board is 
required to keep a strict account of all the money paid 
into or out of the county treasury. The treasurer pays 
out no money save as he is ordered to do so by the 
auditing officer; and the treasurer's account should 
correspond with that of the auditor. 

Liicenses, Fines, Etc. — Besides the general tax upon 
property, taxes are collected in incorporated towns and 
cities upon houses and lots, for the improvement of 
adjoining streets. Other taxes are collected under the 
name of licenses for certain kinds of business, such as 
the selling of intoxicating drinks. The government 
also receives some money from fines and forfeitures. 
All of these sources of income amount to but little in 
comparison with the general tax upon property. 

Exemptions. — In the general property tax some 
forms of property are exempted :£rom taxation. The 
assessor makes a list of the taxable property only. 
States generally exempt a portion of the personal 
property, including the tools and utensils of laborers. 



72 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 

Churches, parsonages, institutions of learning, and 
various charitable institutions are in most states ex- 
empt, on the ground of their advantage to the public. 
As a matter of experience, the greater part of the tax 
is collected from real estate. 

Keasons for not taxing" Notes and Mortgages. — 
Many persons who have given the subject of taxation 
most careful and conscientious study, have come to the 
conclusion that the government ought to exempt from 
taxation all money, notes, mortgages, bonds, and other 
forms of invisible property. Assessors do not find the 
invisible property. As a matter of fact only a small 
part is taxed. It is manifestly unjust to tax a part and 
allow a part to go free. The loaning of money is done 
chiefly in towns and cities. Taxes in cities are gener- 
ally high, sometimes four or five per cent. The man 
who conceals his money from the assessor is in competi- 
tion with the honest man, who reports all his property. 
The dishonest money loaner has then an advantage of 
four or five per cent over all others. There is here a 
bribe of four or five per cent per annum upon their 
capital for all honest money loaners to become dishon- 
est, or to sell out their business to the dishonest. The 
government, by the attempt to tax, drives the business 
into the hands of those who conceal their property from 
the assessor. The government gets no tax j the dishon- 
est money loaner gets as high a rate of interest as if 
paying the high taxes, while the borrower pays a wholly 
gratuitous bounty to the dishonest loaner. Now, if the 
government would simply cease trying to tax moneys and 
credits, the honest lender and the dishonest one would 



TAXATION. 73 

be placed on an equality; interest would be lower; the 
borrower could afford to build more houses and shops, 
and, instead of rewarding dishonesty by a high rate of 
interest, the borrower could pay a tax upon the visible 
property which a low rate of interest had enabled him 
to create. 

Bonds should not be taxed. — It is often economi- 
cal, and it is sometimes necessary, for the government 
to have the use of more money than can be collected at 
once by taxation. An expensive building is to be erected, 
or a war is to be waged. In such cases the govern- 
ment borrows money, and issues its notes, or bonds, 
promising to pay at some time in the future. The 
government has no more power in the borrowing of 
money than an individual. In some respects the gov- 
ernment resembles an insolvent borrower. Some men, 
who cannot be compelled to pay their debts, can, never- 
theless, borrow money on pretty favorable terms, be- 
cause men believe that they will pay. The government 
can often succeed in borrowing on favorable terms, be- 
cause men believe that it will pay. They know that, in 
most cases, it cannot be forced to pay. For a govern- 
ment to tax its own notes or bonds would be just as 
irrational as it would be for an insolvent borrower to 
publish in advance that he would only pay a part of 
the interest agreed upon in his contract. Men would 
either not loan to such a borrower or they would make 
the interest high enough to cover all risks of non-pay- 
ment. If a government were expected to tax its bonds 
three per cent, the creditor would add three per cent 
to his rate of interest, and there would be no relief to 



74 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 

other taxpayers. But the government, in order to bor- 
row on most favorable terms, is often compelled to place 
its notes in the hands of its creditors, and permit them 
to be bought and sold like merchandise. The attempt 
of the government to tax these bonds drives them into 
the hands of those who avoid the tax. The government 
gets no tax, and the taxpayer is compelled to pay a 
high rate of interest, which benefits no one save the 
bond-holder. It is clearly the best policy for the people 
to have it thoroughly understood that no bond issued 
by federal government, state, county, city, town, town- 
ship, or school district, shall, under any circumstances, 
be taxed by any authority in the nation. In this way 
the bond-holder may be compelled, through a low rate 
of interest, to share the burdens of government, and 
the taxpayer is relieved. 

Federal Taxation. — The Constitution of the United 
States forbids the states to derive a revenue from a duty 
upon goods imported or exported.^ The states are, for 
the most part, restricted to the method of supporting 
government by a direct tax on property. A direct 
property tax can be levied by the federal government 
also, under the Constitution. But its collection would 
require such a vast army of officers, some of them in 
every township in the land, that the system is not likely 
ever to be adopted. Hence the federal government is 
practically compelled to adopt the policy of securing 
a tax in some other w^ay. 

Revenue from Land-Sales. — The federal govern- 
ment has at times received a large revenue from the sale 
of public lands. In the year 1836 the income from this 
1 Art. I. sec. 10, cl. ^. 



TAXATION, 75 

source was nearly equal to that from all other sources 
combined. At the present time it is comparatively in- 
significant. Its collection belongs to the Department of 
the Interior. Land offices are opened in the vicinity 
of lands offered for sale, and the money received in 
payment is accounted for to the Treasury of the United 
States. 

Postage. — The Post-Office Department is supported 
chiefly by the receipts for postage. It is the policy of 
the government to collect no more revenue in this De- 
partment than is necessary for its support. There has 
usually been a deficiency, to be made up by an appropri- 
ation from other sources. 

Internal Kevenue. — For ten years following 1792, 
for a few years after 1814, and ever since 1863, a con- 
siderable revenue has been derived from a tax on com- 
modities produced in this country. For a few years 
after the Civil War it brought in more than half the 
revenue, and it still yields about one-third. The com- 
modities selected for an internal revenue tax have often 
been such as were deemed injurious to the people, and 
one object of the tax has been to discourage their pro- 
duction and use. The articles from which the greater 
part of the internal revenue is now derived are tobacco, 
beer, and distilled liquors. 

Collection Districts. — In the Treasury Department 
there is a Commissioner of Internal Revenue to super- 
vise the collection of this tax. The country is divided 
into more than a hundred collection districts, in each of 
which are appointed collectors and assistants, whose 
duty it is to carry into effect the revenue laws. 

Customs, — By far the most important source of 



76 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 

revenue to the federal government has been customs, or 
duties upon imported goods. For the entire period of 
our history more has been collected from this source 
than from all others. The commodities upon which 
duties are imposed are numerous. More than twenty 
pages of the Revised Statutes are occupied with the 
tariff lists. While the commodities on the list are 
numbered by thousands, the greater part of the revenue 
is derived from a few. From some articles there is no 
revenue, because the tax is so high that people will not 
be at the expense of importing them. 

Protective and Revenue Tariffs. — One object of 
the tariff has been to encourage home production. The 
foreign commodity is taxed for the purpose of prevent- 
ing its sale in America in equal competition with home 
products. A duty for this purpose is called a Protec- 
tive Tariff. A tax on imports, maintained solely to 
raise revenue for the support of the government, is 
called a Revenue Tariff. A pure revenue tariff may be 
collected from two classes of commodities : first, those 
which are not produced in this country, as tea, coffee, 
and spices; second, commodities on which an equal 
home tax is laid when produced here. For instance, 
under such a tariff a duty upon tobacco would be allow- 
able precisely equal to the internal revenue tax, for 
then all tobacco, whether of home or foreign produc- 
tion, would pay an equal tax, and share equally in the 
advantages of the market. 

The collection of duties upon imported goods is also 
a part of the business of the Treasury Department. 
The law establishes ports of entry, that is, harbors where 
ships are authorized to unload ; and collection districts, 



TAXATION. 77 

more than a hundred in number, with collectors in each 
port and district. 

The United States and Direct Taxes. — The pecu- 
liar relation which exists between the states and the 
federal government is well illustrated in the matter of 
direct taxation. The Constitution confers upon Con- 
gress full power of taxation. The single limitation is a 
prohibition to levy an export duty. But Congress has 
not often attempted to levy a direct tax. If the states 
held the same relation to the federal government that 
a county holds to a state, the method of direct taxation 
would be the simplest and the easiest way to secure 
a revenue. Congress would simply determine the 
amount to be raised, and apportion to each state its 
proper share according to population. If the legislature 
in any state should refuse to levy and collect the tax, 
the members would be arraigned before a federal court 
and compelled to do their duty or be imprisoned for 
contempt. 

In 1861 Congress did vote a direct tax to be collected 
in the several states. The law provided for the collec- 
tion in one of two ways. First, if a state would assume 
the burden of collecting the tax and paying it into the 
United States Treasury, fifteen per cent of the amount 
should be given to the state. Second, in case the state 
did not do this, then federal officers should collect it. 
The federal government has not the use of counties 
and townships to assist in the collection of taxes. To 
do this, it must appoint its own officers. The trouble 
and expense of collecting was such that the tax was 
continued only one year. From 1861 to 1872 the federal 
government collected a tax on incomes. 



78 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 

Enforced Action. — One of the counties of a West- 
ern state refused to levy a tax for the payment of its 
debts. The county board, whose business it was to levy 
the tax, was ordered by a court to levy the necessary 
tax, or incur the penalty of imprisonment for contempt 
of court. They obeyed the order. Many things may 
be left to the voluntary action of counties and town- 
ships, but the payment of taxes is not one of them. 
The Continental Congress depended upon the voluntary 
action of the states to collect the taxes apportioned to 
each, and the taxes were not collected. Counties levy 
taxes promptly, because they know the power of the 
state to compel action. 



CHAPTER XIL 

TOWNS AND CITIES. 

Meaning" of Terms. — Outside of New England, the 
word town is usually applied to almost any group of 
dwellings which are situated near together. Often a 
small town is simply a part of the township, has no 
fixed limits and no powers of government. Village com- 
monly means a small collection of dwellings ; though 
in some parts of New England the term is applied to 
large business and manufacturing centres, embracing 
many thousands of people. Some states provide for in- 
corporating villages. When this is done, definite limits 



TOWNS AND CITIES. 79 

are fixed to the village, and within them there is estab- 
lished a new local government. Other states provide for 
the incorporation of towns, where the word is used in 
the sense of village. An incorporated village or an in- 
corporated town may still be a part of the township 
and subject to township government ; but as a corpora- 
tion it has powers not possessed by the township. The 
word city everywhere is used to designate government 
with special corporate powers. In some of the states 
a population of one thousand may be organized into a 
city, while in others a population of ten thousand is 
required. 

Municipal Constitutions. — The frame of govern- 
ment for incorporated towns and cities is formed by 
the state legislature. It is commonly uniform for the 
smaller municipalities. In some of the states all the 
cities are classified according to population, and are 
required to conform to a general plan for city govern- 
ment. The state constitution in some cases prohibits 
special laws for the organization of a city. Other state 
legislatures pursue the policy of granting special char- 
ters to cities, and making laws for them separately. 

City Officers. — The characteristic officers of a city 
are : 1. A legislative body, whose members are called 
aldermen, councilmen, etc. 2. A mayor, who is the 
chief executive officer. 3. City or police courts. There 
are besides, an organized police, a treasurer, a solicitor, 
street commissioners, and in large cities many minor 
officials. 

The Work of City Governments. — In matters con- 
cerning education, highways, the care of the poor, taxa- 
tion, and holding elections, cities sometimes do for their 



80 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 

inhabitants what elsewhere is done by the school district, 
the township, and the county. In respect to all these 
labors the dense population of cities renders necessary 
peculiar methods of governmental administration. Town 
and city schools differ in organization from the country 
schools. Highways in cities must be paved; provision 
must be made for foot passengers; streets must be 
swept and cleaned. The burden of pauper relief is 
much greater in cities than in the country. In addition 
to homes for paupers, city governments maintain hos- 
pitals for the sick, and they inspect and regulate tene- 
ment houses. Cities share with counties and townships 
the general burden of taxation, and they have in addi- 
tion special powers of taxation. The forms of taxation 
peculiar to cities are : 1. The expense for pavements 
and sidewalks may be met by assessing the cost upon 
adjoining lots. 2. A large revenue is derived from 
license fees. 3. The companies who control the city 
monopolies, i.e. gas companies, water companies, and 
street-car companies, sometimes pay the city for their 
privileges. 4. Some cities derive a revenue by owning 
and operating the city monopolies. 

Independent Powers of Cities. — Counties and 
townships in the greater part of the states have few 
independent powers ; they are chiefly agencies for the 
administration of the laws of the state. Cities are also 
administrative agents of the state government; but 
their chief importance arises from the large number 
of powers which they may exercise to meet their own 
peculiar needs. Besides what is indicated in the pre- 
ceding paragraph, cities have power to prescribe the 
^ort of materials which may be used for buildings, and 



THE CHOOSING OF PUBLIC SERVANTS. 81 

to maintain agencies for preventing and extinguishing 
fires. They do many things to protect the citizens from 
disease, especially from contagious diseases. They make 
many laws for the preservation of order. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE CHOOSING OF PUBLIC SERVANTSo 

Selecting Teachers. — A school teacher is usually 
employed by a school board. There have been cases 
where the teacher has been elected by a popular vote ; 
but this is not a satisfactory method. It is customary 
in popular elections to choose only those who reside 
within the district. Many school districts do not con- 
tain teachers, and the district is obliged to find a 
teacher elsewhere. It is better that there should be a 
class of persons who make teaching their business, that 
they may be specially fitted for their work. Teachers 
would not be encouraged to fit themselves for their 
occupation if their services were limited to the district 
where they reside. 

Skilled Officials selected by Boards or Individuals. 
— When a city is in need of a superintendent to manage 
its schools, the school board is authorized to seek out 
and employ one. A wise choice may require confiden- 
tial information, and so the responsibility of choosing is 
left to a few. A county needs a skilled superintendent 
for the country schools, and it is better to have a 



82 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL, 

county board employ such an ofjficer. The plan of 
choosing the county superintendent by a popular elec- 
tion limits each county to candidates residing within 
its own borders. When a county superintendent, after 
becoming skilled in his work, is, by a popular election, 
removed from office, the entire state is deprived of his 
services. If the state should make it the duty of a 
county board to employ the county superintendent, the 
most skilful would be most sure of employment. If 
they were not employed by one county, they would be 
by another. If a county needs a court-house, it does 
not select a builder by a popular election, but commits 
the selection to a responsible board. When counties 
select a skilled engineer to superintend road work, it is 
done by the county board, and not by a popular elec- 
tion. From these examples we may derive the general 
statement that where the government is in need of 
professional skill in its service, it is best to secure this 
through some individual officer or appointing board. 

Elections. — In popular governments there is a 
variety of usage as to which offices shall be filled by 
appointment and which by popular election. All offi- 
cers derive their authority directly or indirectly from 
a popular election. In most of the states the chief state 
officers, the local officers of the school districts, town- 
ships, towns, cities, and counties, are elected by the 
people. In the federal government, the President and 
the Vice-President are chosen by electors elected by 
popular vote. Representatives are elected by a vote of 
the people, and senators are elected by the state legisla- 
tures. The other offices in the federal government are 
filled by appointment. 



THE CHOOSING OF PUBLIC SERVANTS, 83 

Voting Precincts. — The holding of elections is an 
important part of the business of government. A 
voting precinct should be small, as it is not convenient 
to travel many miles for the purpose of voting. A 
township is a convenient voting precinct for rural dis- 
tricts. Small towns and cities are voting precincts. 
Large cities are subdivided for voting purposes. Some 
of the local governments have elections for local officers 
on a different day from that of the general election. 
In these cases the officers who receive the votes count 
them in the presence of all who wish to witness the 
process, and declare the result. 

Canvassing the Votes. — The following method is 
used in many states : At the general elections of 
county, state, and federal officers, there are local officers 
whose duty it is to hold the election in each precinct in 
the state. The laws of the state prescribe the manner 
of holding these elections. The officers are required 
to keep the polls open during certain hours, to receive 
the votes of all who have a right to vote, and to exclude 
others. After the polls are closed, the officers count 
the votes, and make a list of all the persons who receive 
votes, and of the number which they receive. Those 
who receive the greatest number of votes for offices 
within the precinct are declared elected. In the case 
of the more general offices of the county, the state, and 
the nation, the lists are sent to a county board, whose 
duty it is to meet at a time specified by law, and can- 
vass the votes. The county board declares the result of 
the vote for county officers, and sends the lists of votes 
for the more general officers to the state board of can- 
vassers. The state board makes a canvass of the vote 



84 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL, 

for all the remaining officers, and declares the result. 
In some states the General Assembly canvasses the 
votes for the governor and the lieutenant-governor. 
Election of President and Vice-President. — The 

people do not vote directly for the President of the 
United States, but vote instead for presidential electors. 
According to the Constitution of the United States, 
each state is required to choose as many electors as there 
are senators and representatives from the state. These 
electors are chosen at a general election held in Novem- 
ber in each fourth year. The votes are canvassed in 
the same way as are those for other state officers. The 
electors chosen are required to meet in their respective 
states on the second Monday in January, and vote by 
ballot for President of the United States, and by a dis- 
tinct ballot for Vice-President. Separate lists are pre- 
pared of the vote for each of the two offices, and three 
copies are made. One is deposited with the clerk of the 
nearest district court of the United States, one is sent 
by messenger to the President of the Senate, and the 
third is sent to him by mail. On the second Wednes- 
day in February, the President of the Senate, in the 
presence of both houses of Congress, breaks the seals 
and counts the votes. Of the candidates for each office, 
the one who receives the greatest number of votes, if it 
be a majority of the whole, is declared elected. If no 
candidate for the presidency receives a majority, the 
House of Representatives proceeds to choose a Presi- 
dent from the three candidates receiving the greatest 
number of votes. If a Vice-President is not chosen by 
vote of the electors, the Senate proceeds to choose a 



THE CHOOSING OF PUBLIC SEE V ANTS. 85 

Vice-President from the two candidates receiving the 
greatest number of yotes.^ 

Disputed Election. — It has happened several times 
that two sets of electors have claimed to be elected in 
a single state, and each set has sent to the President of 
the Senate a list of its votes. In 1876 duplicate lists 
were sent from three Southern states. The candidates 
were S. J. Tilden and R. B. Hayes. If all the disputed 
lists were counted in favor of the candidacy of Mr. 
Hayes it would result in electing him President by a 
majority of one. Any other contingency would result 
in the election of Mr. Tilden. The state of feeling 
was such as to threaten serious trouble ; and Congress 
averted the danger by creating a special board, con- 
sisting of five representatives, five senators, and five 
justices of the Supreme Court, to decide in advance 
which of the disputed lists should be counted. To 
avoid such a danger in the future a recent act of Con- 
gress authorizes the legislature of each state to establish 
by law a special court to determine cases of disputed 
elections. This, at first view, seems to be a case where 
Congress is making use of the states to transact a part 
of its business. But the law does not in express terms 
lay a command upon the states, as would a state legis- 
lature in like case in dealing with a county, but the law 
permits the state to establish such a court; and it 
further gives notice that if any state does not choose to 
establish such a court, and decide by its own court who 
shall be its lawful electors, the vote of the state shall 
not be counted in the choice of a President. This, 
while leaving the states nominally free, makes it practi- 
1 Art. II. sec. 1, and Amendment 12. 



86 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL, 

cally certain that every state will decide all cases of 
contest in the choice of presidential electors. 

The Ballot. — When members of Parliament were 
first elected in England, the choice of the voter was 
manifested by the voice, by show of hands or other pub- 
lic sign. Voting for members of Parliament continued 
to be by voice till 1871, when the secret ballot was in- 
troduced. Voting by ballot was provided for in some 
of the colonial charters, and in some of the colonies 
and states it has always prevailed. In other states, 
especially in the South, the ballot was not used until 
the Civil War. Now its use is required by every state 
constitution except two. The object of the ballot is to 
secure secrecy, that the voter may be free to express 
his real choice without fear or intimidation. 

The Australian System. — The ballot does not se- 
cure entire secrecy. Tickets are printed and distrib- 
uted by those interested in the election. The appearance 
of the paper in the hands of the voter indicates his 
choice. A briber may furnish the voter with a ticket, 
and watch him till he deposits it in the box. A system 
of voting originating in Australia, adopted in England 
and Canada, and now enacted in several states of the 
Union, is fitted to remedy these defects. The follow- 
ing are the chief provisions of the system : 1. The gov- 
ernment prints all the tickets, and puts on each ticket 
the names of all the candidates. To enable the officers 
to do this the law provides that the political parties 
and the bodies of citizens who wish to nominate candi- 
dates shall do so in due time and notify the officers. 
2. The voter is furnished by an officer at the voting 
place, with the ticket which he is to place in the box. 



THE CHOOSING OF PUBLIC SERVANTS, 87 

3. Before depositing the ticket the voter takes his place 
at a desk provided for the purpose, where his hands are 
concealed from view, and there makes a cross opposite 
the names of the candidates for whom he wishes to vote. 
The ticket is then folded and put into the ballot box. 
There is a number of minor provisions, such as guard- 
ing the polls against intruders, and requiring a sufficient 
number of voting places to prevent the necessity of 
haste. An officer is commissioned to assist the blind 
and the illiterate in marking the ballot. 

Constitutional Provisions. — Every state constitu- 
tion sets forth who have a right to vote. The com- 
mon formula is, '' All male citizens of the United States 
over twenty-one years of age," with certain limitations. 
There are requirements as to residence. Soldiers quar- 
tered in a state may not vote. Some constitutions pro- 
vide that students do not by attending school gain a 
residence entitling them to vote. Idiots, insane per- 
sons, and persons convicted of crime may not vote. 
Bribery at an election disqualifies in some states, and 
participation in a duel, in some. Massachusetts insists 
upon ability to read the Constitution in the English 
language, and the Florida constitution makes it the 
duty of the legislature to enact an educational test. 

The United States Constitution. — The regulation 
of the elective franchise is not among the powers con- 
ferred upon Congress ; it is a power reserved to the 
states or to the people. The Constitution makes the 
electors for representatives to Congress the same as 
those who vote for " the most numerous branch of the 
state legislature."^ The time, place and manner of hold- 
•I Art. L sec. 2, ci. 1. 



88 MATTERS CHIEFLY LOCAL. 

ing elections for senators and representatives is to be 
prescribed by the legislature of each state ; but '' Con- 
gress may at any time by law make or alter such regu- 
lations, except as to the place of choosing senators."^ 
This clause gives to Congress the power to take full 
control of the election of its own members, but thus 
far the power has not been exercised. The Fifteenth 
Amendment removes from the states the power to 
deprive a person of the elective franchise on account of 
race, color, or previous condition of servitude. With 
this limitation the regulation of the franchise is still in 
the hands of the state, which may withhold it for other 
reasons. When the amendment was adopted many 
state constitutions restricted the franchise to '' white " 
male citizens. These restrictions of course at once 

became void, 

1 Art. I. sec. 4. 



Paet III. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

AKCIENT USAGES. 

A GOVERNMENT may exist and do nothing for the 
education of youth ; it may entirely neglect to provide 
public highways ; it may do nothing for the poor and 
other unfortunate classes. All these things may be left 
to other agencies. 

What a Government must do. — But there is one 
duty which the government cannot leave to other agen- 
cies. It must administer justice ; it must punish the 
wrong-doer. If the government leaves to another agency 
the protection of life and property and the punishment 
of wrong-doers, then that other agency becomes the 
government. We call that a state of anarchy in which 
every man is permitted to do what is right in his own 
eyes, and in which there is no recognized authority to 
preserve order and administer justice. There are many 
things which a government may do, and which a good 
government will do, besides administering justice, but 
so much it must do. There are states of society in 
which individuals avenge their own wrongs and main- 



90 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

tain their own rights ; but in so far as this condition 
exists, it is a state of barbarism ; civil government does 
not exist under such conditions. 

Union of Departments. — By a reference to pre- 
vious chapters it will be observed that in past times 
legislative, executive, and judicial powers have often 
been in the hands of the same officers. In England the 
three sorts of business were united in the town-meeting 
of the ancient township, in the court of the hundred 
and in the county court. The king and his council 
were at the same time law-makers, law-executors, and 
the highest judicial body of the realm. The House of 
Lords is still the court of last appeal on some matters 
of English law. The separation of the judiciary from 
the other departments is most complete in America. 

Judicial Business in Ancient Townships, Hun- 
dreds, and Counties. — One part of the business of the 
town-meeting among the early English was to adminis- 
ter justice between man and man. In this work they 
followed the good customs of old. In difficult cases 
the old men were called upon to state the custom as 
they remembered it, and the entire community gave 
voice in the decision. When the group of towns in a 
given locality united in a hundred court, the age and 
wisdom of a larger community were brought to bear 
on the administration, of justice. To the hundred court 
came the chief lords of the hundred, and a reeve and 
four best men to represent each township. These all 
joined in the administration of justice. The court of 
the shire, or county, followed the model of the hundred 
court. To the shire court came the chief lords of the 
shire, and representatives from hundreds, boroughs, and 



ANCIENT USAGES. 91 

townships. In this court was to be found the united 
wisdom of the county. To it were taken cases at law 
which had proved too difficult for the hundred court. 

Common Law. — In all these courts, as well as in 
the higher courts held by the king's justices, the aim 
was to follow the customs of the realm in the adminis- 
tration of justice. When a court decided a case, it was 
equivalent to a declaration that this was the custom 
applied to the case in hand. The decisions of courts, 
therefore, were of great importance in determining the 
customs and laws which formed the basis of English 
justice. From this source we have the Common Law 
of England, which came to America with our English 
ancestors. 

The townships, the hundred, and the county courts 
grew out of the habits and customs of the people. 
With the growth of the power of kings and lords, the 
king and his council came to exercise important judi- 
cial powers ; while local lords held courts of their own, 
and often gained control of the local popular courts. 

The King's Justices. — The kings were disposed to 
increase their power by extending their judicial func- 
tions. This was often quite agreeable to the people, 
because they had already fallen into the hands of lords 
and local tyrants. A justice from the king's council, 
empowered to hold a court for the people, was hailed 
by them as a deliverance from these local tyrants. The 
king and his council decided cases brought before them 
from the lower courts ; and justices from the king's 
court went through the shires of England, holding 
courts and administering justice in the king's name. 
England had come to be occupied by a mixed popula- 



92 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

tion ; and there was naturally a great diversity in the 
local customs of the people's courts. The king's judges 
had excellent opportunity to learn all the good customs 
of the realm ; and the king and his council could em- 
body these good customs in general orders or laws. In 
this way the courts and laws were reduced to a uniform 
system throughout England. The king came to be 
looked upon as the source of all law, because he made 
known the laws, and the law was administered in his 
name ; yet, as a matter of fact, most that was excellent 
in the laws of England came from the good customs of 
the people, developed in their local courts. A clause 
in Magna Charta requires the king's justice to hold 
court four times each year in each shire. These courts 
gradually absorbed much of the judicial business for- 
merly done by the county courts. 

Justices of the Peace. — Canute, the Danish king 
who began to rule in 1016, required all citizens to take 
an oath that they would not be thieves, or robbers, or 
receivers of such, and that they would fulfil their duty 
of pursuing the thief when the hue and cry ^ was raised. 

1 From very early times in English history it was made the duty of 
every citizen to pursue and arrest persons whom he saw in the act of 
committing a crime. The English government held the people of the 
locality in which the crime was committed responsible for the crime. 
If the criminal escaped, the town or the hundred had to pay the 
penalty affixed to his crime. One method of taking a criminal was by 
"Awe and cry.'''' This custom began in the earliest times. When a 
crime was committed, it was the duty of any citizen who knew of it, 
and knew, or thought he knew, who committed it, to raise the hue and 
cry against the criminal. This was done by crying aloud, or blowing 
a horn, and giving chase to the supposed criminal. Any citizen who 
heard the hue and cry and did not join in the pursuit, was liable to be 
punished. In later times citizens were required to use horses in the 
chase. 



ANCIENT USAGES. 93 

This oath was exacted by other kings, and in 1194 
Richard I. appointed knights in each shire, to enforce 
the oath and preserve the peace. These knights were 
called Conservators of the Peace, Their duties were at 
first police rather than judicial ; but in course of time 
they came to exercise judicial functions. By a law of 
Edward III., 1327-1377, these conse7*vators of the peace 
were empowered to hear and determine felonies. From 
this time their duties were largely judicial and their 
name was changed to Justices of the Peace. 

Quarter Sessions. — Justices of the Peace appointed 
by the king gradually assumed both the judicial and the 
administrative business of the more popular court of the 
hundred. All the justices of the shire were called to- 
gether four times each year, and organized as a Court 
of Quarter Sessions. This court displaced the older 
representative county court. The Court of Quarter 
Sessions was not only an important judicial body for 
the trial of cases at law, but it was a body for the trans- 
action of all sorts of county business. This, as stated 
in a former chapter, was the form of county govern- 
ment existing in England when America Avas settled, 
and was transferred to this country. One or more jus- 
tices held petty sessions in the hundreds, and trans- 
acted business as the lowest court in the land. By 
these various changes, gentlemen holding office for life 
gained control of counties and hundreds ; the jury was 
all that remained of the ancient people's courts. 



94 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE ORIGIN OF JURIES. 

The Jury and the Town-Meeting*. — There were some 
customs of the ancient English town-meeting which 
are believed to have a connection with the origin of the 
jury. An injured person would stand up before the 
meeting and state in a formal manner a charge against 
his supposed injurer. The accused person would deny 
in a formal way the truth of the charge. Each party 
would seek to establish the truth of his statement, by 
calling upon his supporters to join hands and swear to 
the truth of his word. The one who could get twelve 
men to swear with him would usually carry the voice 
of the meeting and win his case. The twelve who 
swore together to the same thing were not jurors. Yet 
the custom is supposed to have some connection with 
the origin of juries. 

The Jury and the Normans. — When William the 
Conqueror and his Norman army came into England, 
(1066), and finally settled down to rule the land, the 
king was in great need of definite and accurate informa- 
tion as to the condition of his kingdom. He wanted to 
know how many estates there were in the realm ; how 
many people there were on each estate ; and what was 
the rank and condition of each person ; how much prop- 
erty there was; and what were the customary services 
and rents. To secure information on these points, he 
ordered a general survey and census of the realm. 
One method employed for gaining information was to 



THE OEIGIN OF JURIES. 95 

require twelve men of the neighborhood to give the 
facts under oath. This method of gaining information, 
by twelve sworn witnesses of the neighborhood, was 
continued under other kings. 

Closely connected with the usage of gaining informa- 
tion through the medium of twelve witnesses, there grew 
up, in the hundred and the county courts, the practice 
of deciding disputes by the same agency. The sheriff 
called together twelve men of the neighborhood to de- 
cide by oath between rival claimants to an estate. In 
like manner, men were presented to the court for trial 
by the oath of twelve men of the neighborhood. 

Trial by Ordeal. — When a person was accused 
before the court by the oath of twelve neighbors, it was 
common to test the truth or falsity of the accusation by 
a method of trial called the ordeaL Of this there were 
various forms. Sometimes the accused person was 
thrown into deep water ; and if he sank, he was held to 
be innocent. Or he was blindfolded, and compelled to 
walk over a space strewn with hot irons ; and if he was 
not burnt, he was held to be innocent. Or his hands 
were thrust into hot water ; and if he was not scalded, 
he was innocent. 

The ordeal was looked upon as a method of determin- 
ing the facts by divine agency, and was usually admin- 
istered under the guidance of church officers; but in 
1215 it was condemned by the church. 

Trial by Battle. — Both the English and the Nor- 
mans were accustomed to trials by ordeal ; but among 
the English there was also the method of deciding cases 
by twelve sworn witnesses. It was when other methods 
failed that the ordeal was ordered. The Normans had 



96 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

a method of trial which was new to the English, and 
which they detested. This was trial by battle. Two 
men would fight in the presence of the court ; and the 
case was decided by the result of the fight. Two 
stories, preserved to us from this period, give a vivid 
picture of the resistance of the English to the Norman 
method : — 

" At Leicester the trial by compurgation,^ the rough 
predecessor of trial by jury, had been abolished by the 
earls in favor of trial by battle. The aim of the bur- 
gesses was to regain their old justice, and in this a touch- 
ing incident at last made them successful. It chanced 
that two kinsmen, Nicholas, the son ol Aeon, and Geof- 
frey, the son of Nicholas, waged a duel about a certain 
piece of land, concerning which a dispute had arisen 
between them ; and they fought from the first to the 
ninth hour, each conquering by turns. Then one of 
them, fleeing from the other till he came to a certain 
little pit, as he stood on the brink of the pit, and was 
about to fall therein, his kinsman said to him, ' Take 
care of the pit; turn back, lest thou shouldst fall into 
it.' Thereat so much clamor and noise was made by 
the bystanders, and those who were sitting around, that 
the Earl heard these clamors as far off as the castle, 
and he enquired of some how it was there was such a 
clamor ; and answer was made to him that two kins- 
men were fighting about a certain piece of ground, and 
that one had fled till he reached a certain little pit, and 
that as he stood over the pit and was about to fall into 
it, the other warned him. Then the townsmen, being 
moved with pity, made a covenant with the Earl that 

1 By witnesses or jurors. 



THE ORIGIN OF JURIES, 97 

they should give him threepence yearly for each house 
on High Street that had a gable, on condition that he 
should grant to them that twenty-four jurors, who were 
in Leicester from ancient times, should from that time 
forward discuss and decide all pleas they might have 
among themselves." — Grreen^s History of the English 
People. 

The other incident is from the history of St. Edmunds- 
bury, and gives an insight into the way in which the 
English method of trial by compurgation, preserved or 
regained in English towns, was extended to the sur- 
rounding country. The townsmen of St. Edmundsbury 
were living in the enjoyment of the right of trial by 
compurgation, while just outside the walls of the town 
the Norman method of trial by battle prevailed. A 
man by the name of Kebel was tried by battle, and the 
battle went against him. He Avas accordingly con- 
demned and hanged just outside the walls of the town. 
It seems that Kebel's neighbors knew that he was inno- 
cent, and the townsmen said, '^Had Kebel been a 
dweller within the borough, he would have got his ac- 
quittal from the oaths of his neighbors, as our liberty 
is." The monks who were lords of the estate were 
thereupon moved to extend the same liberties to their 
tenants. 

Grand and Petit Juries. — As trial by battle was 
discontinued, and the ordeal was condemned by the 
church, the custom became universal of forming a jury 
of twelve, to decide upon the guilt or innocence of one 
presented for trial. This body was called a Petit 
Jury in distinction from the larger body, which made 
the accusation or indictment, and received the name 



98 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, 

of Grand Jury. The grand jury consisted at first of 
twenty-four, but afterwards of twenty-three members, 
of whom twelve were required to make an indictment. 

Changes in the Jury. — The grand jury has been 
little changed, but the petit jury has been greatly 
changed. At first the twelve were chosen because they 
were supposed to be acquainted with the accused and 
the evidence, and they decided the case upon their own 
knowledge. If the original twelve were not agreed, 
others were added until twelve were found who would 
pronounce in favor of the guilt or the innocence of the 
accused. Afterwards, in the time of Edward III., 1327, 
witnesses were added to tlie jury, not to unite with 
them in the verdict, but to give evidence. About a 
hundreds years later, the witnesses were no longer added 
to the jury, but were examined and cross-examined in 
open court. Jurymen continued to use their own knowl- 
edge of the facts in making up their minds. It was 
not until three hundred years later still that jurors were 
required to decide, not upon their own knowledge, but 
wholly upon evidence given in open court. 

Jurymen as Representatives. — In the old popular 
courts of the hundred and shire the representatives spoke 
for the entire community. To be condemned by the 
county court was to be condemned by the county. The 
jury came to be a means by which the voice of the 
court was expressed. Juries continued to represent the 
community after the county court was reorganized and 
all other representatives had been displaced by Justices 
of the peace. In course of time, grand juries were 
composed chiefly of country gentlemen, and the trial, 
or petit jury, was left to the common freemen. Probably 



MINISTEBIAL OFFICERS. 99 

a large part of the devotion of Englishmen to trial by 
jury is due to the fact that, for centuries, the jury fur- 
nished the only means by which the ordinary citizen 
could share in important governmental business. The 
jury system was transplanted to America, and is still 
maintained with some modifications. Some of the states 
have abolished the grand jury ; in some a grand jury 
may be composed of only five persons. In some of the 
states juries of a less number than twelve are author- 
ized in some of the lower courts ; and in some the jury 
is not required to be unanimous in order to form a 
verdict. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

MINISTERIAL OFFICERS. 

Reeves. — Of the officers who serve our courts and 
execute their orders, the most familiar are the constable 
and the sheriff. These, like the courts themselves, have 
come down to us from the distant past. In the ancient 
English township, the headman was called the tun- 
gerefa^ or town reeve. Where townships had developed 
into boroughs, the headman was called the head bor- 
ough^ or horough reeve. In the hundred, the headman 
was the hundred reeve. In the county or shire court, 
the chief man was the shire reeve, which title was early 
shortened into sheriff. These officers in early times 
had a variety of duties. 

Constable. — With the Norman lords and kings from 
France, came into England the name constable^ which 



100 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

was destined to fill an important place in English and 
American history. The name is from comes stahuli^ 
companion of the stable, and may once have meant a 
hostler ; but in the Norman period of English history 
it had the more dignified meaning of a commander of 
horse. The Lord High Constable of England was the 
chief military ofificer of the realm. The lords of the 
castles had constables as commanders of their horse. 
In striving to perfect their military systems, the kings 
appointed constables in the hundreds, to see that the 
laws for arming and training the militia were carried 
into effect. Constables were also chosen in the town- 
ships, and took the place of the reeves in the township 
and the hundred. The constable of the hundred was 
called the high constable^ and that in the township the 
pettT/ constable. With the decline of the hundred the 
high constable disappeared, and the petty constable 
remained as a local police and ministerial officer. 

Sheriff and Coroner. — The sheriff, as the headman 
of the county, had a great variety of responsible duties, 
some of which were judicial. In the year 1194, a law 
was passed directing the counties to elect coroners to 
hold pleas, or suits, in the name of the king. The 
coroner seems to have been designed as a sort of check 
upon the sheriff. The powers of both of these officers 
have become greatly restricted. The chief remaining 
duty of the coroner is to hold inquests over the bodies 
of persons who have died by violence or under sus- 
picious circumstances. There is still a remnant of the 
old functions connecting the coroner with the sheriff, 
in the provisions made by statute that the coroner shall 



MINISTERIAL OFFICERS. 101 

serve processes on the sheriff, and act as sheriff in case 
of vacancy in that office. 

Marshal. — The word marshal^ like the word con- 
stable., was introduced by the French ; and like con- 
stable, it was also first applied to one having the care of 
horses. The Earl Marshal of England stood next in 
rank to the Lord High Constable. In the first counties 
organized in Massachusetts, New York, and Maryland, 
the term marshal was used for a time in the place of 
sheriff. It is now applied to the ministerial officer for 
the courts of the federal government, and the chief 
police officer in many cities. 

Judicial and Ministerial Functions. — The sheriffs, 
constables, and bailiffs, being chief officers of a court, or 
of a body of citizens exercising judicial functions, came 
themselves to hold courts, and to exercise judicial 
powers. There is a clause in Magna Charta, given by 
King John in 1215, forbidding sheriffs, coroners, con- 
stables, and bailiffs of the king to hold pleas of the king, 
or to try cases at law. The judicial business was passing 
more and more into the hands of the king's justices. 
At the same time, the head officers in the older local 
assemblies, or people's courts, became known chiefly 
as servants of the new courts. They served notices, 
subpoenaed witnesses, arrested criminals, empanelled 
juries, seized and sold property, as they were ordered by 
the court. These are called ministerial officers, because 
it is their chief business to attend upon the court and 
obey its orders. 



102 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

COLONIAL COURTS. 

The English System, — When Englishmen founded 
Qolonies in America, the courts with which they were 
familiar were : 1. The Justice of the Peace in Petty Ses- 
sion, having charge of minor cases, civil and criminal. 
2. The Justices of the Peace in Quarter Sessions, hav- 
ing charge of appeals from the justices in petty ses- 
sions, and more important cases. 3. Assize Courts, held 
by justices sent out from the high courts of the king- 
dom, which were the courts for the trial of the cases 
of chief importance, civil and criminal. 4. The High 
Courts, divided into various separate parts, which were 
for the hearing of appeals, and for the trial of cases 
involving important matters of state. 5. A portion of 
judicial business was still transacted in the House of 
Lords and in the Privy Council, the two parts of the 
ancient King's Council. Many features of this system 
were transferred to America. 

In Massachusetts. — Under the first charter, the 
judicial business in the colony of Massachusetts was 
in the hands of the governor and his council, of magis- 
trates whom they appointed, and of local magistrates 
elected in the towns. The eighteen assistants who 
made up the governor's council held court for the trial 
of small cases in the towns where they chanced to 
reside. In towns not thus provided for, "commission- 
ers of small causes " were chosen. The governor and 
assistants held a court once a month, and four great 



COLONIAL COUBTS. 103 

courts were held during the year, for the hearing of 
important cases. As population increased, counties 
were organized for the holding of courts of the inter- 
mediate grade. Under the charter given by William 
III., 1691, county courts of the English sort were organ- 
ized. Justices of the peace in the different counties 
were appointed by the governor. These, in their 
various towns, held petty sessions for small cases, and 
four times each year, in quarter sessions, they attended 
to the more important judicial business of the county. 
The governor and his council were still the highest 
court in the colony in probate matters. To attend to 
other judicial business, formerly done by the governor 
and his council, a superior court was organized, com- 
posed of one chief justice and four associates, who were 
appointed by the governor. 

In Other Colonies. — The judicial system of Massa- 
chusetts, as it was organized under the new charter, may 
be taken as a type of the system of the colonies gen- 
erally. The governor and his council or judges ap- 
pointed by the governor were the highest court in each 
colony. Justices of the peace, in petty sessions and in 
quarter sessions, formed two lower courts. Courts of 
an intermediate grade, between the county court of 
quarter sessions and the supreme court of the colony, 
arose through the custom of having judges from the 
governor's council or from the high court hold sessions 
in the counties. 

Separation of the Judiciary. — The second charter 
of Massachusetts indicates a tendency to separate judi- 
cial from legislative and executive business. The same 
tendency was promoted by the appointing of circuit 



104 THE ABMINISTBATION OF JUSTICE. 

judges to hold courts in the counties. In the county 
court where judicial and executiye work was most 
thoroughly united, a separation was effected by the 
election of county commissioners to attend to county 
executiye business. The idea of complete separation 
was thoroughly developed before the Revolutionary 
War. 

Clioosing" of Judges. — During the colonial period 
judges were appointed by the governor in all the col- 
onies except Rhode Island and Connecticut, where they 
were chosen by the legislature. " When, in and after 
1776, the states formed their first constitutions, four 
states, beside the two just named, vested the appoint- 
ment in the legislature ; five gave it to the governor, 
with the consent of the council ; Delaware gave it to 
the legislature and the president (governor) in joint 
ballot, while Georgia alone entrusted the election to 
the people." ^ A majority of the states now choose 
all judicial officers by popular election. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

STATE COUETS. 

Three Grades of Courts. — The system of courts, as 
finally established in all the states, has at least three 
grades. 1. In the courts of the lowest grade the judi- 
cial business is in the hands of justices of the peace in 
petty sessions, and in those of the lower police courts 

1 Bryce ; The American Commonwealth. 



STATE COURTS, 105 

of towns and cities. 2. In some of the states there are 
still courts of quarter sessions ; but in most states this 
court has been replaced by a court commonly called a 
District or Circuit Court. Where the court of quarter 
sessions is retained, there are four grades in the system. 
3. There is in each state a Supreme Court, or court 
of last appeal, consisting of a chief justice and one or 
more associate justices. 

It is not possible by a general description to give a 
correct yiew of the judicial systems of all the states. 
In every state the justice of the peace is the lowest 
court ; but in some states his powers are more limited 
than in others. In nearly every state the highest court 
of appeal is called the Supreme Court, but in New 
York it is called the Court of Appeals. The system 
of courts intermediate between the justice of the peace 
and the supreme court, varies greatly in the different 
states. The simplest is where just one court, called 
either a circuit or a district court, tries all sorts of cases. 
It is a criminal, a civil, a probate court and a court 
of equity. Departures from this simplest form arise : 
1. From establishing separate courts for the different 
st)rts of business ; in that case there may be three or 
four courts each with a different name, and all of the 
same grade. 2. From having two grades of courts for 
the trial of criminal and civil cases. 

Courts of Equity. — A few of the states still main- 
tain separate courts of equity. Equity courts try a 
class of civil cases where the stricter rules followed in 
other courts would be inadequate to redress wrongs or 
to prevent injustice. Relief is granted in this court 
that could not be given in a court of law. In states 



106 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, 

where there are not separate equity courts, ordinary 
civil courts try such cases, applying to them the rules 
followed in courts of equity. Equity cases are those 
arising from partnerships and the administration of 
trusts, or cases where, on account of mistake, accident 
or fraud, hardship would be incurred by a close adher- 
ence to the strict rules of law. 

Tribunals of Arbitration. — Several of the states, 
some with and some without constitutional require- 
ments, have provided tribunals of arbitration, for citizens 
who choose to settle their disputes in that way. In 
some cases a permanent court of arbitration is estab- 
lished; in others a method is adopted by which the 
parties interested may form a special tribunal for the 
occasion. In some states tribunals of arbitration are 
created for the purpose of settling disputes between 
laborers and their employers. These have not the full 
power of courts, but their decisions, when filed in a 
regular court, may be enforced like a decision of the 
court. 

Courts of Record. — The justice of the peace is his 
own clerk. His court is not a court of record. He is 
not permitted to try a case which affects the title oT 
real estate. The records in a justice's court are of 
temporary importance. If the judgment rendered in 
his court is not soon executed, it becomes of no value, 
unless the record is transferred, as it may be in some of 
the states, to a court of record in the county. All the 
courts of a higher grade than the justice's and police 
courts are courts of record, and have an officer to keep 
the records. 

Clerk of the Cohrts, — All the courts of record, ex- 



STATE COUBTS. 107 

cept the highest court of the state, are connected with 
the county. They are either county courts or courts 
held in and for counties. The county provides court- 
houses, jails, juries, and the safe-keeping of all the 
records. The officer in charge of the records is called 
the county clerk or clerk of the courts. In some of 
the states one clerk has charge of all important county 
records. These are: 1. Of criminal cases, the penalties 
imposed and the fines collected. 2. Of civil cases, the 
judgments rendered and executed. 3. Of wills proved, 
and all matters of administration and guardianship. 
These are all court records. 4. Of deeds to real estate 
in the county, including mortgages. 5. As clerk of the 
board of county commissioners, or the governing board 
of the county, he has the record of all legislative and 
administrative county business. 6. He issues marriage 
certificates and keeps a record of births and deaths. 

Variations amoii^ the States. — In many states 
some of the county records are kept by separate officers. 
The chief are : 1. A secretary, clerk, recorder or auditor 
who keeps the records of the county board. 2. A re- 
corder of deeds and mortgages, who in some cases has, 
in addition, the care of the records concerning wills and 
matters of guardianship. The recording of deeds and 
of births and deaths in some states is in the hands of 
a township officer. 

Decisions of the Supreme Court, — The chief busi- 
ness of the Supreme Court is to hear appeals from the 
lower courts on points of law. It reviews the action 
of the lower court, and may reverse its decision on ac- 
count of errors in the application of the law. When 
the supreme court has decided a point in law, the lower 



108 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

courts in the state are required to follow its decisions 
The clerk of the supreme court has duties correspond- 
ing to those of the county clerk. He is a state officer, 
and is either elected by the people, appointed by the 
court, or appointed by the governor. 

Supreme Court Reporter. — The decisions given by 
lower courts are placed on record. These records are 
open to the examination of the public, but are not pub- 
lished. The reports of the decisions rendered by the 
Supreme Court are much more elaborate. The judges 
give their opinions in writing, and the case is explained 
and argued at length. Often the judges do not agree. 
A majority may unite in giving the decision, and a 
minority may file a dissenting opinion. Besides the 
clerk, the Supreme Court has another officer, called the 
reporter, whose duty it is to prepare for publication 
the decisions of the court. These are published for the 
benefit of the lower courts, and for the use of attorneys 
and others interested in the administration of justice. 

The courts of one state are not required to follow 
the rulings of the supreme court of another state ; yet 
these rulings are constantly quoted in the trial of cases, 
and influence the decisions. 

Prosecuting" Attorney. — In each county or group 
of counties forming a judicial district, there is a law 
officer, called in the various states by different names, 
some of whose duties are : 1. To present cases to the 
grand jury for their action, and to draw indictments 
against those whom the jury decide to indict. 2. To 
appear on behalf of the state in the trial. 3. To ap- 
pear on behalf of the county in all suits in which the 
county or its officers are involved. 4. To give advice 



FEDERAL COURTS. 109 

on questions of law to county officers and to justices of 
the peace in the county. 

The Attorney General. — The Attorney General is 
a state officer whose duties correspond in many respects 
to those of the law officer of the county. 1. He appears 
on behalf of the state in all suits in the supreme court 
in which the state is a party. 2. He is required to 
give advice on points of law to state officers. 3. In 
some states he is required to give advice in writing on 
legal constitutional questions presented to him by the 
legislature. 4. He may be required to prosecute a 
defaulting treasurer or other officer in charge of state 
funds. 5. In some states he is prosecuting attorney in 
the trial of capital crimes. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

FEDERAL COURTS. 

Commissioners of the Circuit Courts. — For the 

trial of cases arising under the Constitution and laws 
of the United States, the federal government maintains 
a system of courts similar to those maintained by the 
several states. The most widely distributed of the 
judicial officers of the United States are the commis- 
sioners of its circuit courts. Each circuit judge is em- 
powered by law to appoint as many discreet persons 
as he may deem necessary to serve as commissioners. 
They perform various duties, the chief of which are 
assisting the district and circuit courts in taking evi- 



110 THE ADMINISTBATION OF JUSTICE, 

dence to be used in trials, and arresting and holding 
for trial persons accused of crime against the United 
States. 

State Officers as Commissioners. — As a justice of 
the peace may arrest, examine, and commit for trial 
persons accused of crime against the state, a commis- 
sioner of the circuit court of the United States does 
this work for the federal government. In most parts 
of the country the violation of a law of the United 
States is rare ; but when it occurs, there is need of an 
officer at hand, with authority to arrest and hold the 
offender. A few hours, or a few minutes, may make a 
great difference in catching a criminal. To meet this 
occasional want without multiplying officers, a law of the 
United States provides that in addition to the commis- 
sioners of the circuit courts, who have this as a special 
duty, any judge or magistrate of either the state or the 
federal government may order the arrest of a person 
charged with crime against the United States. This 
may seem to be in conflict with the statement that the 
state government has nothing to do with the punish- 
ment of a crime against the federal government. There 
is, however, no real conflict between the statements ; 
for a state officer, when he arrests a person for a federal 
crime, is acting, not as a state officer, but as a federal 
officer. If a bank is robbed, the suspected person is 
accused before a justice of the peace, is arrested by his 
order, examined, and sent to jail. If the United States 
mail is robbed, the suspected person may be accused 
before the same officer, and treated in the same way. 
But in the latter case, the justice is not acting as a 
local township or county officer ; he is acting as a 



FEBEBAL C0UBT8. Ill 

United States officer; he has for this purpose the 
powers of a commissioner of the circuit court of the 
United States. In this service he is responsible to 
the federal government alone ; the state government 
has no power or control over him. 

The Habeas Corpus. — We have, then, two govern- 
ments, with officers in almost every township in the 
land, empowered to seize any person and cast him into 
prison. It is well that this is so. The good order of 
society requires that violators of law, state or federal, 
be punished. To do this, the government must have 
power to seize and hold for trial any person against 
whom there is evidence of crime. In this way inno- 
cent persons are sometimes sent to jail. Any one 
who deems himself unlawfully imprisoned, may secure 
the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus by applying 
to either a state or a federal judge for release. If, on 
examination, he is found to be lawfully held, he is 
remitted to jail, otherwise he is set free. 

District Courts. — The lowest regular court in the 
federal system is the district court. The commissioner 
of the circuit court may attend to some judicial busi- 
ness, but cannot try a case. There is a district judge 
in every state in the Union. Some of the states are 
divided into two districts, and have two district judges ; 
New York and Texas have three each. There are for 
the entire Union about sixty judicial districts. The 
number of district judges is somewhat less, since in a 
few instances one judge supplies two or more districts. 
The number may be changed at any time by Congress. 

The district court may try any crime against the 
United States committed within the district, except 



112 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

those punishable by death. A great variety of civil 
cases arising in the administration of federal laws may 
be tried in this court. Associated with every district 
court there is a district attorney, whose duty it is to 
appear on behalf of the United States in all suits where 
the government is a party. 

Circuit Courts. — Intermediate between the district 
court and the Supreme Court of the United States, is 
the circuit court. The entire Union is divided into 
nine circuits, for each of which a circuit judge is ap- 
pointed. He holds a court in each district of his 
circuit, either alone or with the district judge. The 
circuit court is often held by a district judge, or by 
two district judges sitting together. It is the duty also 
of the nine justices of the Supreme Court to distribute 
the nine circuits among themselves, and to hold a court 
in each at least once in two years. In holding this 
court, the justice may have associated with him the cir- 
cuit judge or a district judge of the locality. The 
court which is thus held is an important session of 
the circuit court. In this court there may be brought 
together judges from the three federal courts. 

The circuit court may try cases appealed from the 
district court. The greater part of crimes and offences 
against the United States may be brought for original 
trial in either the district or the circuit court. Suits 
arising under patent or copyright laws, and a variety 
of other cases, are brought for original trial in the cir- 
cuit court. Appeals from the circuit court are taken to 
the Supreme Court. In 1891 Congress established in 
each of the nine circuits a court of appeal. 

Supreme Court. — The Supreme Court of the United 
States, as now organized, consists of a chief justice and 



CASES AT LAW. 113 

eight associate justices. Besides hearing cases of appeal 
from the lower courts, the Supreme Court has original 
jurisdiction in all cases affecting foreign ministers and 
consuls, and those in which a state is party. 



CHAPTER XX. 

CASES AT LAW. 

Three Sorts of Cases. -— Legal business is ordinarily- 
classified under three heads : 1. Criminal cases are 
those whose object is the infliction of some penalty for 
the violation of law. In a criminal suit one of the 
parties is always the state, the government, or the 
people. The state makes the complaint and is called 
the plaintiff, and the party charged with crime is called 
the defendant. Petty crimes are tried in the justice's 
court ; more serious crimes are tried in the intermediate 
courts. 2. Civil cases are such as arise between citizens 
in the enforcement of contracts, and in securing dam- 
ages for injuries. The aggrieved party, or the one who 
begins the suit, is called the plaintiff, and the other is 
the defendant. 3. Probate business relates to the prov- 
ing of wills, the settling of the estates of deceased per- 
sons, and the guardianship of minors and other persons 
legally disqualified to manage their own affairs. In the 
transaction of probate business, contests or suits some- 
times arise between the parties, but the greater part of 
the business involves no contest. 

Criminal Processes. — The action of the various 



114 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

judicial agencies may be made clear by illustrations. 
We will suppose that a burglary has been committed. 
Such a case may involve the following legal acts : com- 
plaint, warrant, preliminary examination, bail, indict- 
ment, arraignment, trial, appeal. 

The Complaint. — 1. The first business is to find 
indications of who committed the crime. So soon as 
sufficient evidence is discovered, some one who is inter- 
ested in having the crime punished will go before a 
justice of the peace in the county, and file a " com- 
plaint," or, as it is called in some states, an ''infor- 
mation " or "affidavit." This record alleges that A. B. 
(the supposed criminal) is accused of the crime of 
burglary, because at a certain time and place he com- 
mitted certain described acts. In some of the states 
there is an officer whose duty it is to file all complaints 
in criminal prosecutions ; but in most of the states 
there is no such officer, and the complaint is made by 
any citizen who wishes to vindicate the law ; usually by 
the person who is chiefly injured. 

The Warrant. — 2. Immediately upon the filing of 
the complaint, the justice issues a warrant for the arrest 
of the supposed criminal. The warrant is directed to 
a ministerial or peace officer in the state. It states 
that a complaint has been filed alleging that the crime 
of burglary has been committed at a certain time and 
place, and charging A. B. therewitli. It orders the 
peace officer immediately to arrest the said A. B. and 
bring him into court. 

Preliminary Examination. — 3. A justice of the 
peace cannot try a case of burglary. He may hold a 
preliminary examination. It is the duty of the one 



CASES AT LAW, 115 

who filed the complaint to furnish evidence of the 
guilt of the person accused, and the accused may pre- 
sent counter-evidence. If the justice is convinced that 
the accused is probably guilty, it is his duty to order 
the accused to be held until the meeting of the grand 
j^ry. 

Bail. — 4. Except in the case of the most serious 
crimes, the accused has a right to avoid going to jail 
by giving bail; that is, by getting responsible citizens 
to agree to pay to the government a specified sum of 
money if he should not appear at the command of the 
court. It is the duty of the justice to inform the 
accused of his right to bail, and to fix the amount. 

The Indictment. — 5. The grand jury attends the 
meetings of the court having jurisdiction over serious 
crimes. The evidence tending to establish the theory 
of guilt is presented. If in the opinion of the grand 
jury, the evidence will result in the conviction of the 
accused, it is their duty to indict him ; that is, to present 
a formal charge against him, which is usually drawn by 
the prosecuting attorney. The grand jury may indict 
persons not previously held to appear by a magistrate. 
In such a case there is no complaint or preliminary 
examination ; the arrest is made by order of the court 
after the indictment of the grand jury. 

The Arraignment. — 6. The accused is brought be- 
fore the court and the indictment is read to him. He 
is asked whether he has been indicted by his right 
name. He is also asked whether he is guilty or not 
guilty of the crime charged in the indictment. Before 
he answers this question he is entitled to the benefit of 
oounsel. If he is unable to secure counsel, the court 



116 THE ABMINISTBATION OF JUSTICE. 

appoints counsel for him. If the accused answers 
''guilty," the court sentences him to punishment ac- 
cording to law. If he answers " not guilty," a time is 
set for the trial. The answer which the accused makes 
of guilty or not guilty is called his plea. 

The Trial. — 7. The object of the trial is to ascertain 
the guilt or the innocence of the accused. The form of 
procedure differs in the different states, but there are 
usually the following stages : — 

1. The Empanelling of a Jury. — The clerk draws 
twelve names from the list of jurors who have been 
called to attend the sitting of the court. The accused, 
as well as the attorney for the state, may object to any 
of the persons selected, for reasons recognized by law. 
This is called challenging the jurors for cause. A cer- 
tain number may be excluded by peremptory challenge ; 
that is, a challenge without assigning any reason. If 
the list of jurors in the hands of the clerk is exhausted, 
the sheriff is directed to summon by-standers until the 
panel of twelve jurors is completed. The jurors are 
then sworn to decide the case according to the evidence 
and the law, as given them by the court. 

2. The Testimony. — Having been sworn, the jury 
listen to the testimony. In many states the counsel for 
the state begins by giving to the court and the jury an 
outline of the evidence upon which he relies for con- 
viction. Then the witnesses for the state are sworn 
and examined by him, and cross-examined by the coun- 
sel for the defendant. The counsel for the defendant 
may then give an outline of the evidence for the de- 
fendant, to be followed by the witnesses themselves. 
The state may introduce rebutting testimony, 



CASES AT LAW, 117 

3. The Arguments. --When the evidence has all 
been given, the counsel on each side presents an argu- 
ment, to secure from the jury a verdict in his favor. 
The order of these addresses is not the same in all the 
states. In some the last address is for the defendant, 
and in others for the state. 

4. Instruction from the Court. — The court then in- 
structs the jury on the law applicable to the case. The 
jury are informed that they are the judges of the facts 
and the testimony ; that if they find from the testimony 
that such and such are the facts, it will be their duty 
to bring in a verdict of guilty as charged ; but that if 
from the testimony they find the facts to be thus, then 
it is their duty to render a verdict of not guilty. Or a 
state of facts may be set forth, in view of which the 
jury may find the accused guilty of a crime less than 
the one charged in the indictment. 

5. The Verdict. — The jury may, while sitting in 
their places, confer together and agree upon a verdict. 
In case they do not thus agree, they are placed in 
charge of an officer, and are kept together in a room by 
themselves until a verdict is reached, or until it becomes 
manifest that they are unable to agree. If they fail to 
agree, a new trial may be had. If they bring in a ver- 
dict of not guilty, the defendant is set at liberty, and 
he cannot be tried again for the same offence. 

6. The Sentence. — If the jury return to the court 
with the verdict of guilty, it then becomes the duty of 
the court to sentence the prisoner; that is, to tell him 
in open court what his punishment shall be. In some 
cases the law determines the exact penalty ; in others, 
a measure of discretion is left to the court. For the 



118 THE ABMINISTBATION OF JUSTICE. 

crime of burglary the penalty is imprisonment at hard 
labor in state's prison for a term of years. After sen- 
tence, the sheriff conveys the convict to prison and 
delivers him into the hands of the keeper. 

7. Appeals. — The accused having been sentenced, 
his counsel may file a bill of exception to the rulings 
of the court, and may appeal to the higher court. The 
higher court does not try the case anew; it simply re- 
views the action of the lower court on matters of law. 
If it finds that errors have been committed, it may set 
aside the decision, which makes a new trial necessary 
before the accused can be punished. If an appeal is 
taken, the accused is kept in the county jail or held 
under bail until it is decided. 

Civil Cases. — In criminal suits the plaintiff, or the 
party bringing the action, is the state, or the people. 
But in a civil suit both plaintiff and defendant are 
usually individuals or corporations. The method of 
beginning the action is not the same in all the states. 
The plaintiff in some way, by filing a petition with the 
clerk of the court, or by filing an order or a complaint, 
or by serving an original notice, makes known to the 
defendant that on a certain day of a certain term of 
court, suit will be brought for the recovery of a speci- 
fied sum of money, which is due for such and such a 
consideration. If the defendant does not appear either 
in person or by counsel, and object to the claim, judg- 
ment is rendered against him and no contest occurs. 
If he appears, he makes a written answer to the petition 
in which he alleges that the claim is not due, or that it 
has been paid, or that it is in some way defective. The 
trial ensues upon the issue raised by the plaintiff's peti- 
tion and the defendant's answer. 



GOVERNMENT OFFICERS. 119 

If either party demands it, a jury is empanelled to 
determine questions of fact. Otherwise the court de- 
cides all questions both of law and fact. 

An appeal may be had by either party. 

When a judgment is rendered against the defendant, 
an officer has authority to procure the money due, by 
seizing and selling any property of the defendant not 
exempted by law. 



CHAPTER XXL 

COURTS AND OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICERS. 

Control of Public Officers. — A large part of judi- 
cial business is such as arises in the punishment of 
criminals, and in settling disputes between citizens. 
But courts are also closely connected with the execu- 
tive business of government through their power over 
its officers. 

Mandamus. — Civil officers may neglect to perform 
the duties prescribed by law. Upon the application of 
any citizen, who is interested in the matter, a court may 
issue an order commanding the officers to perform a 
specific duty. Such an order is called a mandamus^ a 
word meaning " we command." If the officers still 
refuse to act, they may be sent to prison for contempt 
of court. The mandamus is used most frequently when 
the officers of a town, city, or county refuse to levy a 
tax to pay the debts of the government. 

Injunction. — An injunction is an order from a court 
restraining an officer or person from the doing of some 



120 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

specified wrong. The officers of a city may have levied 
an unlawful tax. An interested taxpayer may secure 
an injunction to prevent the tax from being collected. 

The mandamus and the injunction are used against 
officers in such cases only as are not conveniently 
reached by ordinary prosecution. Officers are individ- 
ually responsible for their acts, and they are subject to 
both criminal and civil prosecution for neglect of duty 
and for injuries done contrary to law. 

Government Sued. — The school district, town, 
township, city, county, state, and the United States may 
each, under certain conditions, be sued in courts of law. 
One characteristic of a municipal corporation is its 
power to sue and be sued. In some states this power 
is not given to school districts or townships. While all 
these governments may be sued there is a vast differ- 
ence in their relation to the courts. 

Local Governments within the State completely 
Subject to the Orders of Courts. — A dispute may 
arise between counties as to which is responsible for 
the maintenance of a certain pauper. One county may 
bring an action in a state court having jurisdiction, and 
the county losing the suit would be compelled to sup- 
port the pauper. A citizen may receive an injury on 
account of a defect in a sidewalk or a bridge, and the 
town, city, or county, responsible for the sidewalk or 
bridge, if proven in a court to be negligent, may be 
compelled to pay damages. The various local govern- 
ments may have power to borrow money and issue 
bonds. If the bonds are not paid when due, the holder 
may bring suit in a state court and compel payment. 
Or, if the holder is a citizen of another state, he may 



GOVERNMENT OFFICERS. 121 

bring suit in a federal court, and compel payment. 
Either a state or a federal court may require the local 
taxing officers to levy a tax to pay off a judgment, on 
penalty of being punished for contempt of court. When 
judgment is rendered against an individual, the court 
orders his property to be seized to satisfy the judgment. 
A town, city, or county ordinarily has no property 
which may be legally seized. The only way to compel 
payment from such a body is to order the levy of a tax. 
The Memphis Case. — The city of Memphis, Ten- 
nessee, became deeply involved in debt. There were 
suits in the courts for the enforcement of payment. 
The legislature of Tennessee abolished the municipal 
corporation of Memphis. The courts held that there 
was then no way in which the payment of the debts 
could be enforced. The property of citizens was not 
liable to seizure, and there was no public property 
liable. The Memphis corporation was an agent of the 
state, created by the act of the state, and the legislature 
had a right to abolish it. Afterwards the legislature 
gave to Memphis new corporate powers, and expressly 
declared that the new corporation was not empowered 
to levy a tax for the debts of the former. But the courts 
held that the new corporation was liable for the debts 
of the old ; that the part of the statute declaring the 
new corporation not liable, and denying to it the power 
to tax for the payment of the former debts, was in con- 
flict with the United States Constitution, which forbids 
a state to make any law impairing the obligation of 
contracts. The new city officers were therefore subject 
to the same penalties as the old, for refusing to vote a 
tax. 



122 THE ADMIN ISTBATION OF JUSTICE. 

Suing a State. — The states borrow money and issue 
bonds. If the legislature refuse to levy a tax for their 
payment, there is no power in the state to force it to do 
so. The courts may order county commissioners, city 
councils, and school boards to levy taxes, because these 
are subordinate agents of the state ; but the legislature 
is not a subordinate agent. The Supreme Court of the 
state has no direct power over it. If the legislature 
violates the constitution, the courts may refuse to en- 
force an unconstitutional act ; but the Supreme Court 
may not issue an injunction to prevent it from violating 
the constitution ; neither can it issue a mandamus^ and 
compel it to act. The states by special statutes may 
allow themselves to be sued in the state courts for cer- 
tain purposes. But the legislature, although by mak- 
ing the law it has consented to the suit, may prevent 
the execution of a judgment by refusing to appropriate 
money. 

States and Federal Courts. — The Eleventh Amend- 
ment to the Constitution deprives a citizen of another 
state, or a citizen of a foreign state, of the privilege of 
suing a state in a federal court. One state may sue 
another in the Supreme Court of the United States, but 
states have little dealing with each other, and cases for 
litigation do not often arise. There is nothing in the 
Constitution to prevent the federal government from 
suing a state in the Supreme Court, but it has never 
been done. If the states were agents of the federal 
government, as counties are of the states, they would 
often be sued, and their action would be forced by the 
decree of a court. The states are not agents of the 
United States government. Even where the action of 



GOVEBNMENT OFFICEBS. 123 

a state has been in violation of the Constitution, laws, 
or treaties of the United States, the federal courts have 
not attempted to reverse it by direct command. They 
have never issued an injunction or a mandamus against 
a state legislature. 

The Case of Missouri and Iowa. — Some instances 
have occurred where a boundary dispute between two 
states has been settled by a suit in the Supreme Court 
of the United States. The constitution of Missouri 
fixes the northern boundary of the state on a parallel 
passing through the rapids of the Des Moines River. 
The people of the territory of Iowa held that the Des 
Moines River rapids were several miles south of the 
point fixed by the people of Missouri. Settlements 
were made in the disputed territory, and in course of 
time, a sheriff from Missouri tried to serve a writ on a 
man who claimed to live in Davis County, Iowa. Great 
excitement ensued. The governor of Iowa ordered out 
the militia to defend the territory. The governor of 
Missouri likewise took measures to vindicate the author- 
ity of the state. Before proceeding to shed blood, it 
occurred to each of the governors that it would be wise 
to have a conference, and seek some other method of 
settlement. The conference resulted in an agreement 
to make up a case for the Supreme Court, which would 
involve the location of the Des Moines River rapids. 
This took the form of a suit brought by the state of 
Missouri against the territory of Iowa. The court 
decided the question of geography in favor of Iowa, and 
there was no further trouble in the matter. 

Repudiating States. — If a state pass a law by 
which contracts between citizens are made invalid, the 



124 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

citizen may go into a federal court and enforce his con- 
tract notwithstanding. The law is held to be void 
because it violates the Constitution. But a state may 
refuse to fulfil its own contracts, and the courts furnish 
no relief. States have borrowed money and issued 
bonds, and have refused to pay the bonds when due. 
A state court cannot force a state legislature. Bond- 
holders are citizens, and a citizen cannot sue a state in 
a federal court. There is one form of contract into 
which some of the states have entered, which the courts 
have maintained against hostile state action. In the 
days of state banks certain states, which were owners of 
bank-stock, passed laws enacting that the bills of the 
state bank should be accepted for taxes due the state. 
Afterwards the legislatures passed laws requiring taxes 
to be paid in other kinds of money. The United States 
Supreme Court held that the latter laws were uncon- 
stitutional and void. The holders of the bank bills could 
still pay their taxes with them. It will be noticed that 
this decision involved no forcing of the legislature. It 
simply protected the citizen from having his property 
taken for taxes, after he had tendered the bills in pay- 
ment. 

The Virginia Bond Case. — The state of Virginia 
issued bonds with coupons, which were to be torn off 
and presented for the collection of the interest when 
due. The law also provided that the coupons be ac- 
cepted by the state in the payment of taxes. The legis- 
lature afterwards passed a law forbidding the accept- 
ance of the coupons. The Supreme Court ruled that 
this law was unconstitutional. Then the legislature 
passed a law requiring the coupons to be received by 



GOVERNMENT OFFICERS. 125 

tax-collectors, but requiring the payment of money at 
the same time. The taxpayer could afterwards recover 
his money by bringing an action in a Virginia court, 
and convincing a jury that the coupons were genuine. 
The excuse alleged for this provision was that fraud- 
ulent coupons were presented. The Supreme Court 
sustained this law, and the effect has been to nullify 
the original law. 

Suing the United States. — If the power to sue a 
state is limited, the power to sue the United States is 
much more limited. The United States cannot be sued 
in any state court. Congress might follow the example 
of many states, and permit suits to be brought in cer- 
tain cases in the federal courts against the federal gov- 
ernment, but no such law has been passed, and without 
it suit cannot be brought. Congress has established a 
special court, called the Court of Claims, in which action 
may be brought for the collection of a certain class of 
claims, such as would otherwise be presented to Con- 
gress for settlement. It is only in this rather unimpor- 
tant court that the United States can be sued. If it is 
almost impossible to compel a state by judicial process 
to pay its debts, it is entirely impossible to compel the 
United States to do so. It is because the United States 
never has repudiated a contract, that it can borrow 
money on terms most favorable to its taxpayers. 



126 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, 



CHAPTER XXII. 

FEDERAL JUDICIAL BUSINESS. 

r 
Gases in State Courts. — There are less than a han- 
dred federal judges, and there are many thousands of 
state judicial officers. A large majority of the cases at 
law are tried in state courts. If only state laws are in- 
volved in the case, the federal courts can have nothing 
to do with it. Ordinary crimes, such as assault, theft, 
and murder, can be tried only in state courts. In like 
manner, nearly all cases arising in the administration of 
school laws, laws concerning paupers, highways, state 
taxation, the laws for the government of cities, and the 
holding of elections, are triable in state courts alone. 
It is only when some provision of the federal Constitu- 
tion, ol* some act of the United States government is 
involved, that a federal court can act. 

Cases exclusively Federal. — A state court cannot 
try cases arising in the administration of federal laws. 
Congress alone has made laws concerning post-offices, 
patent-rights, and copy-rights, and the collection of 
federal revenues. Offences against these laws or suits 
arising in their administration are tried only in federal 
courts. In a preceding chapter it has been shown that 
suits between states can be tried only in the Supreme 
Court of the United States. The Constitution also 
requires that cases affecting ambassadors, ministers and 
consuls be tried in the same court. 

Optional Cases. — If the duties of the two sets of 
courts ended with the cases described, state courts in- 



FEBEBAL JUDICIAL BUSINESS. 127 

terpreting state laws, and federal courts federal laws, 
there could be no conflict between them. But the two 
governments have for their subjects the same people, 
and the division of business is not so complete as to 
prevent interference. Congress has made a law to 
punish counterfeiting. The states have done the same. 
A counterfeiter is therefore subject to punishment by 
two distinct authorities. A constitutional provision for- 
bids that a person be tried twice for the same offence. 
When warrants have issued from two courts for the 
same person at the same time, the government which 
succeeded in catching the accused has been permitted 
to try and punish him. 

Removals from State Courts. — The Constitution 
gives to federal courts jurisdiction in controversies : (1) 
between citizens of different states, (2) between citi- 
zens of the same state claiming lands under grants of 
different states, and (3) between a citizen of a state 
and foreign states, citizens or subjects. 

In all these cases the plaintiff may begin the action 
in a federal court, but he is not required to do so. The 
great majority of such cases are tried in the state courts. 
The statutes of the United States provide that they may 
be removed to a federal court when the alien or the 
citizen of another state, who is a party to the suit, certi- 
fies that he believes that on account of local prejudice 
he cannot secure justice in the state court. Removals 
from a state to a federal court may also be had in cases 
involving the grant of property by the United States, 
or the grant of land by another state, and cases in 
which United States officers become involved on ac- 
count of some official act. 



128 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, 

New Trial. — Suits thus carried from a state to a 
federal court begin trial anew. They are such suits as 
are ordinarily tried in state courts. The reason for 
going into a federal court is the fear of local prejudice. 
The federal court simply takes the place of the state 
court, and it must apply to the case the same law. 
The case is not decided twice. If the party, who has a 
right to remove, permits the case to be decided in the 
state court, he has no right of appeal to a federal 
court. 

Appeals to a Federal Court. — Appeals from a state 
to a federal court can be had only after a case has been 
passed upon by the highest court in the state, and the 
state court has decided against the validity of some law, 
treaty, or act of the United States government, or in 
favor of the validity of some law or act of the state 
government which is alleged to be in violation of the 
Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States. 
Few cases at law in state courts admit of appeal to a 
federal court. 

In the tenth section of Article I, of the Constitution, 
there are several direct prohibitions upon the states. 
The greater part of the prohibitions have never been 
violated. The one which has given rise to most con- 
troversy is that forbidding the state to make a law 
impairing the obligations of a contract. The Virginia 
coupon bond case, and the cases growing out of the 
refusal of states to accept for taxes the bills of state 
banks which had been issued under a law providing that 
they should be so accepted, may serve as illustrations. 

A clause in the Fourteenth Amendment has given 
rise to several important appeals from state courts. 



FEDERAL JUDICIAL BUSINESS, 129 

The words are, " No state shall make or enforce any law 
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of cit- 
izens of the United States ; nor shall any state deprive 
any person of life, liberty, or property, without due pro- 
cess of law, nor deny to any person, within its jurisdic- 
tion, the equal protection of the laws." Several of the 
states have passed laws prohibiting the manufacture 
and sale of intoxicating liquors to be used as bever- 
ages. Those whose property has been thus destroyed 
have secured appeals from state to federal courts, on 
the ground that the law deprived them of property 
without due process of law. In these cases the Supreme 
Court has sustained the action of the state. The states 
have a large discretion in the exercise of police power. 
The destruction of property was only such as was inci- 
dental to the exercise of the police power which, the 
court held, belongs to the state. 



Part IY. 

MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

CHAPTER XXIIL 

THE PRESIDENT. 

His Election. — The method of choosing the Presi- 
dent, as determined by the Constitution and the laws of 
Congress, and of the states, has been described in a for- 
mer chapter. The Constitution empowers each state to 
appoint presidential electors in any way its legislature 
may direct, and it gives to Congress the duty of can- 
vassing the votes. Decisions concerning the claims of 
rival electors are, by a recent act of Congress, left to 
the state. The framers of the Constitution intended 
to remove the choice of the President from what they 
regarded as the dangers of a popular election. It was 
expected that the electors chosen by the states would 
be men of superior wisdom, who would meet in their 
various states at the time fixed by law, and by their 
own matured judgment, select the President. At first 
in many of the states the legislatures chose the electors. 
Parties were soon organized, and party candidates were 
named in advance ; then electors were chosen, not to 
vote according to their own judgment, but to vote for 
the party candidate. As the choosing of electors by 
130 



THE PRESIDENT, 131 

popular vote has become universal, the people virtually 
elect the President. 

The Constitution changed by Custom. — The 

method of electing the President furnishes the best 
illustration in our history of a change in the Constitu- 
tion accomplished by custom. The Constitution clearly 
gives to the electoral college the power to choose the 
President. Custom has taken from it that power and 
given it to the people. Yet the words of the Consti- 
tution have remained unchanged. The question has 
often been asked, What would happen if the electors 
should follow the form of the Constitution, and, disre- 
garding the people's candidate, elect another to the 
presidency? No answer can be given to this question. 
Horace Greeley was a candidate for the Presidency. 
Before the meeting of the electors he had died. If he 
had been the successful candidate, the electors chosen 
to vote for him would have been confronted with a 
grave responsibility. It would have been their duty to 
unite their vote upon some one who would be acceptable 
to the party which had elected them. As it was, the 
Greeley electors divided their votes among four candi- 
dates. 

Succession to the Presidency. — The Constitution 
provides : 1. That in case of vacancy in the Presidency, 
the office shall devolve on the Vice-President. 2. That 
in case of vacancy arising from removal, death, resigna- 
tion, or disability of both President and Vice-President, 
Congress may by law declare what officer shall act as 
President.^ Four times a Vice-President has become 
President upon the death of the President. No one 
1 Art. II, sec. 1. cl, 6. 



132 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL, 

has ever become President by virtue of an act of Con- 
gress. The Vice-President, according to the Constitu- 
tion, is the presiding officer of the Senate. The Senate 
elects a president j?ro tempore^ to occupy the chair in the 
absence of the Vice-President. The law formerly made 
this officer the first to succeed to the Presidency after 
the Vice-President. When Cleveland was President the 
Vice-President died. The president pro tempore of the 
Senate was a Republican. The death of the President 
would cause a change in the politics of the administra- 
tion. To avoid this contingency Congress passed a law 
making the members of the Cabinet successors to the 
Presidency in the following order : 1. the Secretary of 
State ; 2. the Secretary of the Treasury ; 3. the Secre- 
tary of War ; 4. the Attorney General ; 5. the Postmaster 
General; 6. the Secretary of the Navy; 7. the Secretary 
of the Interior. The Secretary of Agriculture was not 
then a member of the President's Cabinet. 

The Cabinet and the President. — The Constitu- 
tion makes no mention of a Cabinet. A clause gives to 
Congress power to vest the appointment of inferior offi- 
cers in the "Heads of Departments,"^ thus assuming 
that such officers will exist. One of the first duties of 
a newly inaugurated President is to send to the Senate 
the names of his proposed Cabinet. It has almost come 
to be a part of our unwritten Constitution that the 
Senate shall confirm any nomination for the Cabinet 
which the President may choose to make. The Presi- 
dent is responsible for his administration, and needs for 
Cabinet officers his immediate political friends as ad- 
visers; it would be regarded as unfair for the Senate 

1 Art. 11. sec. 2. cl. 2. 



THE PRESIDENT. 133 

to interfere with his choice except for important rea- 
sons. At the close of the Civil War, President Johnson 
adopted a policy which the majority of Congress viewed 
with alarm. Johnson proposed to dismiss those members 
of President Lincoln's Ctibinet who had not resigned, 
and to fill their places with men of his own views. Con- 
gress passed a tenure-of-office act, to prevent these 
removals, and thus to retain in office some of the mem- 
bers of Lincoln's Cabinet. A bitter contest arose be- 
tween the President and Congress, which resulted in his 
impeachment. On the trial the Senate lacked one vote 
of the two-thirds necessary to convict. The President 
gained his point; Secretary Stanton resigned, and 
one of the President's own nominees was confirmed by 
the Senate. Such a contest is not likely to occur again. 

Political and Non -Political Offices. — A Republican 
Cabinet officer would be an unsatisfactory adviser for a 
Democratic President, because they would differ in their 
views on governmental policy. A Cabinet position is a 
political office, because the occupant helps to shape the 
principles and policy of the administration. A foreign 
minister may also be closely connected with govern- 
mental policy. A postmaster is not a political officer. 
His opinion is never asked on matters of state. His 
business is purely administrative. The political offices 
are few in number ; the non-political are numerous. 

The Appointing Power. — The Constitution makes 
it the duty of the President to nominate and, with the 
approval of the Senate, to appoint all officers of the 
United States not otherwise provided for by law. The 
officers in the civil service have become very numerous. 
The places to be filled are estimated at near two 



134 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

hundred thousand. A large proportion of these are 
merely hired assistants, and are not subject to appoint- 
ment. The making of appointments to office now con- 
stitutes a large part of the business of the Presi- 
dent. It was not so during the first forty years of the 
history of the Constitution. The officers were not 
numerous, and the tenure of office was permanent; 
removals being made only when the business demanded 
a change. A law establishing a four-years tenure to 
many of the offices filled by appointment, and the intro- 
duction of the so-called spoils system have greatly 
increased the labors of the President. 

The Spoils System. — During Washington's admin- 
istration the question w^as raised whether the Presi- 
dent should have the power to remove from office or 
whether removals should be governed by law. It was 
alleged, in favor of a law, that if the President had 
power to remove, he might turn out all officers in the 
civil service and fill the places with his own personal 
and party friends. Mr. Madison said that the Constitu- 
tion furnished an effectual remedy against such an abuse 
of power. A President who should make removals for 
such a purpose would himself be subject to impeachment 
and removal from his own high trust. Madison's view 
of the Constitution was the prevailing one till Mr. Jack- 
son became President, in 1829. Mr. Jackson actually 
removed nearly all who held office by appointment, and 
filled their places with personal and party friends. Since 
the time of Jackson his method of appointment has 
become general. The party which carries the election 
expects to have all the offices, in accordance with the 
doctrine, " To the victors belong the spoils." 



THE PRESIDENT, 135 

Objections to the Spoils System. — Against the 
spoils system the following objections, among others, 
may be urged : — 

1. It tends to degrade the office of the Presidency. 
Mr. Colfax relates that a clergyman from a small town, 
calling upon President Lincoln in the interest of a post- 
office candidate of his town, prefaced his business by 
remarks upon the cruel war and the great responsibility 
which it entailed upon the President. '' Oh, it is not 
the war," Mr. Lincoln replied, " I can get along with 
the war very well. It is your plaguy little post-office 
that is killing me ! " The spoils system takes up the 
time of the President with unimportant, and often con- 
temptible, business. 

2. This unworthy business involves congressmen as 
well as the President. Congressmen have taken advan- 
tage of the helplessness of the President in his efforts 
to distribute spoils, and assume to control the appoint- 
ments in their own districts. This brings upon the 
President a new difficulty. The Constitution makes 
him responsible for making the appointments and con- 
ducting the business ; but men who are not responsible 
select as officers those who are often wholly unsuited 
to his purposes. Many congressmen are thus hindered 
almost entirely from giving attention to their own 
responsible and constitutional business. 

3. The spoils system tends to create a limited class 
of office-seekers and office-holders. The great major- 
ity of citizens never seek for or expect an office, but 
it is for their interest that the best qualified should 
have a chance at every appointment. Successful spoils- 
men get control of party machinery and strive to 



136 MATTEBS CHIEFLY FEBEBAL. 

limit office holding, both state and federal, to their own 
class. 

4. The spoils system tends to destroy an interest in 
politics on the part of the great body of citizens. All 
intelligent citizens are naturally interested in the poli- 
cies and the issues of statesmanship, which affect the 
welfare of themselves and of their families. The distri- 
bution of offices does not personally concern them. If 
the place for a statesman is filled by a distributer of 
offices^ the multitude can have little interest in him. 

5. The spoils system tends to destroy party life and 
party harmony. The life of a party comes from a com- 
mon purpose to promote some principle or some policy 
of government. In so far as patronage displaces states- 
manship it is a direct attack upon real party life. 
Those who are not office-seekers will lose interest in 
their party when their leaders cease to labor for its 
principles. The office-seekers in the party tend to 
divide into warring factions, who feel towards each 
other a greater hostility than towards the members 
of the opposite party. The assassination of President 
Garfield arose from a bitter factional war over the 
spoils of office. The "independent" voting which 
causes the defeat of a party often comes from a disap- 
pointed faction among its office seekers. 

6. The system tends to promote corruption. It is 
theoretically possible under the spoils system that only 
those should receive office whose devotion to the prin- 
ciples and policy of the party would make them labor 
for party success as earnestly without the hope of 
office. Many offices are thus distributed and no taint 
of corruption is involved. But in other cases offices 



THE PRESIDENT. 137 

are given to stimulate party workers. Nay, in some 
cases men receive office because they would otherwise 
work to defeat the party. This is bribery pure and 
simple. 

It is in itself perfectly honorable and upright for 
an office holder to give money toward the expenses 
of a political campaign. Many give from true party 
interest. In other cases officers are made to feel that 
unless they give the sums specified by a party committee, 
they will be removed from office. Sums thus exacted 
lower the virtue of party committees. 

Congressmen in whose interest the party funds have 
been expended are tempted to make good to officials 
their political assessments by increased salary, and to 
maintain idle offices for those who have worked or are 
working simply for the party. Here are involved the 
three distinct crimes of bribery, blackmail, and misuse 
of funds. Yet in each case the act may be with diffi- 
culty distinguished from an honorable deed or an error 
in judgment. The agent may find himself acting from 
a corrupt motive before he is aware of being tempted. 
It is the insidiousness of the spoils system which con- 
stitutes its peculiar danger, and which caused Horace 
Bushnell to say that such a system would corrupt a 
nation of angels. 

Obstacles to Reform. — If the President and con- 
gressmen would simply return to the method followed 
during the first forty years, the reform would be accom- 
plished. It is difficult for them to do this. They have 
been elected under the spoils system. They have in 
many instances secured position, not by the advocacy 
of political measures before the voters, but by promises 



138 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

of political favors to the few party managers. Many of 
these know that they would not be chosen to office for 
their ability to understand and state political issues. 
Some of them, seeing the general indifference to federal 
politics which the spoils system has created, have come 
actually to believe that the system is necessary in order 
to prevent a decay of political interest. It is doubtless 
true that in the case of individuals there would be a 
loss of interest. The reform is thus opposed by a large 
part of the official class. Its evils are not such as to be 
readily seen. 

Present Laws. — In view of the many obstacles to 
reform by a voluntary change of habit, it is necessary 
to resort to compulsory legislation. Thus far the laws 
passed are : 1. One forbidding party committees to levy 
assessment upon public officers ; 2. One forbidding public 
officers to engage in active party work ; 3. A law re- 
quiring entrance to office in a part of the service to be 
through an open competitive examination. The last 
provides for a civil service commission to supervise its 
enforcement. The law also authorizes the Executive 
to extend the rules to classes of officers not named 
in the statute. The reform will be completed when, 
either by law or by custom in the federal service, 
the non-political officers shall never be called in question 
for their political opinions ; when there shall be no re- 
movals for political reasons; when vacancies shall be 
filled with sole reference to business ability; when 
a candidate for a political office can no longer secure 
place or promotion by bestowing favors upon the few, 
but shall be required to convince the many of his ability 
to understand and promote political measures. 



FOBMGN SERVICE. 139 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

FOREIGN SERVICE. 

Treaties. — When our revolutionary fathers adopted 
the Declaration of Independence, and thereby expressed 
their determination to become a separate and indepen- 
dent nation, they immediately took steps to secure the 
recognition and assistance of other nations. They sent 
ambassadors to France ; and after two years a treaty 
was signed with that government, acknowledging the 
independence of America, and promising assistance in 
the war against England. The co-operation of Spain in 
the war was secured in the following year. In 1783 
a treaty was completed with the English government 
whereby our independence was acknowledged. At the 
same time a treaty was made with Spain, fixing the 
boundary of the United States on the south and the west. 
Florida was made the boundary on the south, and the 
Mississippi River on the west, while Spain kept control 
of the mouth of the river. In 1803, by a fortunate turn 
in the affairs of Europe, it became possible for the 
United States to purchase from France the vast terri- 
tory west of the Mississippi River, since known as the 
Louisiana Purchase. This gave to the United States 
entire control of the Mississippi. 

Other Purchases. — In 1819, Florida was purchased 
of Spain; and a definite boundary for the Louisiana 
purchase was fixed. This boundary was so run as to 
give to the United States Oregon and Washington 
on the Pacific coast. At the close of the Mexican War, 



140 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

in 1848, the treaty of peace secured to us the Rio 
Grande and Gila rivers as our boundary on the south- 
west. A strip of land south of the Gila was purchased 
of Mexico, in 1853. 

Boundary Disputes. — In adjusting our boundary 
on the north, we have dealt with England. For many 
years there was a dispute as to the precise location of 
the northern boundary of Maine. The treaty made in 
1783 was not clear in its terms. This dispute was 
finally settled by the Ashburton Treaty, in 1842. The 
treaty with Spain in 1819 gave to the United States, so 
far as the claims of Spain were concerned, the Pacific 
coast north of the 42d degree of north latitude. But 
the English nation claimed the entire region as a part 
of their territory. The United States claimed the coast 
region west of the Rocky Mountains as far north as 
54° 40'. Several treaties recognize this as disputed 
territory. A treaty with England in 1846 fixed upon 
the 49th parallel as the dividing line. A treaty with 
Russia in 1867 gave us Alaska. 

Other Foreig^n Service. — These are the important 
treaties by which our territory has been extended. Be- 
sides questions of territory, there are many other things 
which claim the attention of nations in their dealings 
with each other ; questions concerning commerce and 
the navigation of seas and rivers, the surrender of es- 
caped criminals, the protection of citizens travelling or 
residing abroad, immigration, postal business, and many 
other matters of greater or less importance. 

Constitutional Provisions. — The entire business of 
dealing with foreign nations has from the beginning 
been in the hands of the federal government. The 



FOBEIGN SERVICE. 141 

Articles of Confederation forbade the states to make 
treaties or to conduct official business with other nations 
without the consent of Congress. The Constitution 
makes it unlawful for a state to make a treaty under 
any circumstances.^ It would lead to infinite confusion 
and trouble to allow the states to carry on official busi- 
ness with a foreign nation. 

The Secretary of State. — Washington made Thomas 
Jefferson his first Secretary for Foreign Affairs. The 
legal name of this division of the Executive is the 
Department of State. The head of the department is 
called the Secretary of State. He occupies the place of 
greatest dignity and honor in the President's Cabinet. 
He receives all ambassadors and ministers from foreign 
nations, and introduces them to the President. He 
conducts the correspondence wdth other nations, and is 
the custodian of the archives of the government. 

Division of the Service. — In the State Department 
many of the officers reside in foreign lands. They are 
divided into two classes assigned respectively to the 
diplomatic and to the consular service. 

Diplomatic Service. — In the diplomatic service the 
officers have to do chiefly with governments. They 
reside at the capital of the nation to which they are 
lent, and receive instructions from the President, com- 
municated through the Secretary of State. It is their 
duty to secure, so far as possible, a favorable considera- 
tion of all our interests. Communications to or from 
foreign nations are made through our diplomatic agents 
abroad, or through foreign ministers at Washington. 

1 Art. I. sec. 10. 



142 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

The diplomatic agents of highest rank are " Envoys 
Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary," who 
represent our government at the capitals of Great Brit- 
ain, France, Germany, Russia, Austria, and other large 
states. The second class, called '' Ministers Resident," 
are employed in less important nations, as Central 
America, Sweden, and Turkey. The third class re- 
ceive the name of " Charges d' Affaires," and are sent to 
Denmark, Portugal, and a few other small states, or 
are employed temporarily to supply vacancies in larger 
states. The diplomatic officers are assisted in some of 
these countries by secretaries of legation and inter- 
preters. 

Consular Service. — The officers in the consular 
service are more numerous than those in the diplo- 
matic. They have to do chiefly with the rights and in- 
terests of individuals. All foreign countries frequented 
by Americans are divided into consular districts, and a 
consul is appointed for each one. If an American dies 
within the limits of the district, and leaves no provision 
for the settlement of his estate, it is the duty of the 
consul to take charge of it, pay debts, collect dues, and 
transmit the remainder of the property, or of the pro- 
ceeds from its sale, to the treasury of the United States, 
to be holden for the legal claimants. If an American 
in a foreign country wishes to make certain legal docu- 
ments ^r use in America, the business is done by a 
consul. These are examples of a multitude of things 
which a consul may be called upon to do. 

Consuls and Commerce. — But by far the most im- 
portant business in the consular service is that con- 
nected with American shipping. The consul must 



FOREIGN SERVICK 143 

keep a record of all American vessels entering his port, 
the number of seamen, the tonnage of each vessel, the 
nature and value of the cargo, and various other items. 
The consul is the legal guardian of the rights of Amer- 
ican seamen. If seamen are destitute, it is his duty to 
furnish relief at the expense of the United States gov- 
ernment. He may require ship-masters to convey sick 
or destitute seamen to the United States. 

The Alabama Case. — It is the duty of all ministers, 
consuls, and agents of the United States in foreign 
lands to collect information which may be of use to the 
United States government or people. The famous Ala- 
bama Case furnishes a good illustration of the practical 
working of our foreign service. It was the duty of our 
consul at Liverpool to learn the fact that a ship w^as 
building for the purpose of preying upon American 
commerce. Having learned the fact, it was his duty at 
once to inform the Secretary of State. It was then the 
duty of the Secretary of State to request the British gov- 
ernment to prevent the vessel from going to sea. When, 
through the negligence or connivance of British officials, 
the vessel had been permitted to go to sea, it became the 
duty of the Secretary of State to notify the British gov- 
ernment that the United States held itself entitled to 
full compensation for all the damages inflicted upon 
American property by the Alabama. Having set forth 
this claim, it was the duty of each Secretary of State, in 
all proper ways, to insist upon a settlement at the hands 
of the English government, until an agreement was 
reached. 

Salaries. — During the year 1889 there were in the 
diplomatic service thirty-three officers, whose salaries 



144 MATTEBS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

ranged from |5,000 to $17,500. In the consular service 
there were two hundred and forty-three, whose salaries 
were from $1,000 to $6,000. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT. 

Origin of the Treasury Department. — In February, 
1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution for 
the appointment of a standing committee to superintend 
the treasury. In 1779 the department was reorganized 
and the business was committed to a Board of five 
Commissioners, three of whom were not members of 
Congress. In 1781 the Commissioners were displaced 
by a Superintendent of Finance, and Robert Morris 
was first chosen to this office. Washington made Alex- 
ander Hamilton his Secretary of the Treasury. Under 
his wise management the department received a form 
of organization which has in many features continued 
to the present day. 

The Constitution gives to Congress power to levy 
taxes, to borrow money on the credit of the United 
States, and to coin money. The execution of the laws 
made in pursuance of these powers is through the 
agency of the Treasury Department. The collection 
of taxes is the largest part of executive business. 

Internal Revenue. — The government derives about 
one third of its revenue from a tax upon distilled and 
fermented liquors and tobacco. For the collection of 
the tax the entire country is divided into districts, and 



THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT, 146 

a collector is appointed for each district. For a time 
during and after the Civil War a large number of arti- 
cles were taxed and the income from this source 
exceeded that from all others. The term internal 
revenue includes all taxes on the products or manufac- 
tures of the country, upon banks and bankers, the 
income from the sale of stamps, such as the stamp upon 
bank checks, and licenses, or taxes upon occupations, 
and income taxes. It does not include the revenue from 
the sale of public lands or the revenue from postage- 
stamps. The tax upon liquors and tobacco is paid by 
the manufacturers and dealers. Nearly all other forms 
of internal revenue have been abolished. 

Customs. — The revenue from duties imposed upon 
imported goods was, for the year 1888, $219,000,000. 
This was nearly twice the income from internal revenue 
for the same year, and was more than half the entire gov- 
ernment income. Of this amount there was collected 
from duties on tobacco and liquors 116,000,000 ; from 
sugar $50,000,000 ; from iron and steel, $21,000,000 ; from 
wool and woollens, $32,000,000. The remaining part is 
collected from a multitude of articles. For the collection 
of the customs, the coast line, the banks of navigable 
rivers, and the boundaries between the United States 
and Canada and Mexico are divided into collection dis- 
tricts. Ports of entry are established by law, through 
which all imported goods are required to pass. A large 
proportion of the revenue from customs is collected at 
the single port of New York. 

Commerce and Navigation. — To attend to the col- 
lection of revenue from imports, the government has to 
maintain officers at all the ports of entry. To prevent 



146 MATTEBS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

smuggling, guards are necessary along the coast. On 
account of the nature of the business of the Treasury 
Department, it is entrusted with the execution of the 
various laws on commerce and navigation, such as laws 
for the inspection of ships and steamboats to determine 
whether they should be permitted to go upon the water, 
the laws to maintain lighthouses and buoys along the 
coast, the life-saving corps and the coast-survey, the laws 
for the preservation of seals in Alaska, and the laws to 
prevent the introduction of diseased animals. The depart- 
ment also has charge of hospitals for the use of seamen. 

Public Improvements, — Since 1853 there has been 
connected with the department an office for superintend- 
ing architecture. It supervises the erection of all 
buildings for the department, such as custom-houses, 
mints, assay offices, marine hospitals, and, in addition, 
post-offices and court-houses. Skilled engineers from 
the War Department are employed in this office. The 
improvement of rivers and harbors is also under this 
department. 

Sub-Treasuries. — During the years from 1792 to 
1812, and from 1816 to 1836, when there was a national 
bank, the Treasurer was required to deposit the funds 
with the bank. During President Jackson's adminis- 
tration the funds were distributed, without warrant of 
law, to certain state banks. By their failure in the 
great financial crisis of 1837, the treasury incurred loss. 
In 1840, a law was passed for keeping the funds without 
depositing in any bank, state or federal. It was pro- 
vided that sub-treasuries should be established in certain 
cities for the receiving and holding of funds, subject to 
the order of the Treasury Department at Washington. 



MONEY AND COINAGE. 147 

This law was repealed in 1841, was re-enacted in 1846, 
and is still in force. Assistant, or sub-treasurers, are 
located at Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, New 
Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Fran- 
cisco, and Washington. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

MONEY AND COINAGE. 

Origin of Money. — It is probable that in the earliest 
times governments had nothing to do with the selection 
of a commodity to be used as money. People, without 
any aid from the government, selected whatever val- 
uable thing was most convenient, and used it in setting 
prices in their exchanges. In this way, all sorts of 
things have been used as money. Among the multitude 
of the things which have been thus used, gold and silver 
are the principal materials which have survived. These 
were originally used for money just as iron was used for 
ploughs, wool for clothing, and wheat for bread, not 
because of any statute made by governments, but be- 
cause of their fitness for the use. Governments have 
recognized and adopted what the common sense of man- 
kind had already fixed upon as the best measure of value. 

Coinage. — In early times gold and silver were 
weighed out in exchange. The knights of the middle 
ages carried scales at their sides for the purpose of 
weighing the silver. But silver can be so mixed with 
other metals, that it is difficult to determine how much 
there is. Persons who become skilled in assaying and 



148 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDEBAL. 

mixing gold and silver have great advantage over the 
rest of the community. To protect the community from 
fraud, it is desirable that the government provide for 
assaying the metal and dividing it into pieces of uniform 
sizes, convenient for use. Each piece is stamped to 
make it evident that the work has actually been done 
by government officers. The object is to adopt such a 
stamp and employ such methods as will make counter- 
feiting difficult. 

Money of the Colonists. — The first English colo- 
nists in America were obliged to live in that rude, 
primitive condition, in which some more bulky form of 
property is better fitted than gold and silver to be a 
medium of exchange. Tobacco, furs, wampum, salt, 
codfish, cattle, and other things were at different times 
and in different places used as money ; and these vari- 
ous kinds of extemporized currency were made legal 
tender by the colonial governments. 

In course of time, the accumulation of wealth in the 
colonies was such that they could command a portion 
of the silver of commerce. The silver which came to 
them was largely in Spanish coins. The first effort at 
coining in this country was made by the colony of 
Massachusetts, in 1652. The English government did 
not allow the colonies to coin money. They were 
expected to use English coins, and to trade only with 
England. Not much was done in the way of coining 
money in this country until the Revolutionary War. 
The colonists had various disastrous experiences in 
their attempts to make money out of paper. 

The Money of the Revolution. — - With the opening 
of the Revolutionary War the various colonies came intg 



MONEY AND COINAGE. 149 

the possession of full power in the matter of monetary- 
legislation. Under the stress of the times, the Conti- 
nental Congress fell into the habit of issuing paper 
money ; this was made by the states a full legal tender 
in the payment of all debts, public and private. One 
result was that no money of real value could remain in 
circulation. The people were left to the distressing 
experience of carrying on a great war with a worthless 
currency. Before the war ended the money had become 
entirely valueless. Pelatiah Webster, the financial his- 
torian of the Revolution, said of this money, " We have 
suffered more from this cause than from every other 
cause or calamity." The Articles of Confederation 
assumed that the separate states had a right to coin 
money, and they provided that the Continental Con- 
gress might also do the same ; but they gave to Con- 
gress alone the power to regulate the alloy and the 
value of all coins made by either state or federal gov- 
ernment. The Constitution provides that the federal 
government alone shall have power to coin money. The 
states are expressly prohibited from coining, and from 
making " anything but gold and silver coin a tender in 
pajrment of debts." ^ This makes it possible always to 
secure a uniform currency for all parts of the country. 

Difficulties with the Standards. — Our government 
at first made both gold and silver coins a full legal ten- 
der in the payment of debts. But in fixing the weight 
of the coins, it chanced that the gold coin was worth 
more than the silver; and the result was that gold would 
not circulate, and we had only silver as money. By 
the legislation of 1834 and 1837 the gold coin was made 
1 Art. I. sec. 10. 



150 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEBEBAL, 

lighter, so that silver coin of full weight was worth 
more than the corresponding gold coin ; whereupon, 
the silver coins were immediately collected by specu- 
lators, and melted down, and the people were brought 
into distress for lack of change. Merchants resorted to 
various devices, especially to the importation of foreign 
coins. The influx of gold from California, beginning 
in 1849, had the effect to aggravate the difficulty. 

The Difficulty overcome. — This distress continued 
until 1853, when our law-makers adopted a device which 
had been found to work well in England. Silver coins 
of fifty cents and less were intentionally made light, so 
that they were worth less than gold, and were made a 
legal tender in small sums only. This device protects 
the people from the speculators, and secures the use 
of both metals as a medium of exchange. There is no 
temptation to melt down a light silver coin, and the 
government keeps the light coin at full value in trade 
by retaining a monopoly of the manufacture, and by 
furnishing only enough to supply the demands of com- 
merce. Under such circumstances, these light token 
coins will always "pass" at the full gold value, upon 
which all prices are based. So long as gold is the 
actual measure of values, there is no temptation to melt 
a gold coin, because no one can buy it without paying 
the full price for it. 

In 1873 the silver dollar, few of which had ever been 
coined, was omitted from the list of coins. In 1878 it 
was restored by act of Congress and made a full legal 
tender in the payment of all debts. The act also pro- 
vided that the manufacture of these dollars might be 
limited to $2,000,000 per month. Owing to this limita- 



MONEY AND COINAGE. 151 

tion, and to the further fact that the Treasury Depart- 
ment has exercised a wise discretion, and has not forced 
silver into circulation, we have thus far been able to 
keep in circulation both gold and silver. 

Gold Coins. — The gold dollar weighs 25.8 grains 
and contains 23.22 grains of pure gold. This is the 
standard of value ; the money in terms of which prices 
are set. The gold dollar is inconveniently small, and 
few are coined. The laws authorize the coinage of 
two-and-a-half-dollar and three-dollar gold pieces, but 
these are not greatly used. The coins most used are 
the five-dollar, ten-dollar, and twenty-dollar pieces. 
Any owner of gold may take it to the mint or the 
government assaying office where its quantity will be 
determined, and he will receive for it the same quantity 
of gold in the form of coins. The government makes 
no charge for coining, but it requires the owner of the 
gold to pay for the copper alloy used in the coining. 
It will be observed from this that the value of the gold 
bullion and of the gold coin are the same. The mints 
furnish a convenient way for all owners of gold to 
market their ware. 

Silver Coins. — The mints do not furnish an un- 
limited market for silver. The government is required 
to buy enough silver to make 12,000,000 per month. 
For this the government pays the market price, which, 
during the eleven years in which the law has been in 
force, has varied from seventy to ninety-two cents on 
the dollar. The government also buys silver to make 
the smaller silver coins in use for change. The quan- 
tity purchased for this purpose varies with the demands 
of trade. For the last ten years the amount kept in 



152 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL, 

circulation has varied from seventy to seventy-seven 
million dollars. It requires only small purchases each 
year to keep up the amount. The smaller coins contain 
less silver according to their value than does the silver 
dollar. When the silver in the dollar is worth seventy 
cents, the silver in two half-dollars is worth about 
sixty-five cents. The government, by purchasing the 
silver and coining on its own account, secures a profit. 
On the silver dollar, however, the profit is dependent 
upon the government's maintaining the gold standard 
of values. If silver should be received and coined in 
unlimited quantities, as is gold, or if the dollars should 
be forced in large quantities upon an unwilling public, 
the silver dollar would cease to bear the gold value, 
and would have simply the value of the silver which is 
in it. If such a policy should continue, gold would 
cease to circulate as money, and the silver dollar would 
be the money of account and the standard of value. 
There could then be no profit to the government in 
buying silver and coining dollars ; the silver in the dol- 
lar would cost the full value of the dollar. The smaller 
silver coins are a legal tender only in payments of ten 
dollars or less. It is therefore, under present laws, im- 
possible for the government or any one else to force 
into circulation the small coins in such quantities as to 
destroy the present standard of values. The silver coins 
now authorized by law are^ the dollar, the half-dollar, 
the twenty-five-cent piece, and the ten-cent piece. 

Minor Coins. — The government used to coin a silver 
five-cent piece. This was inconveniently small, and a 
nickel coin is now made to take its place. There is also 
a nickel three-cent piece. For still smaller change, 



MONET AND COINAGE, 153 

the copper or bronze two-cent and one-cent pieces are 
furnished. All these minor coins are made on govern- 
ment account, and the cost of the material is only a 
small part of their current value. These coins are a 
legal tender to the amount of twenty-five cents. The 
government bears the expense of distributing the minor 
coins and the silver coins to the places where they are 
needed. 

Gold and Silver Certificates. — The government 
permits the owners of gold coins and of silver dollars to 
deposit them in the treasury and receive for them cer- 
tificates of deposit in amounts of five dollars or more. 
These certificates are not a legal tender, yet they circu- 
late as money. The holder of a certificate can at any 
time obtain the coin by presenting the certificate to a 
sub-treasury. A gold certificate will command gold 
coin, and a silver certificate will command silver dol- 
lars On November 1, 1888, the silver dollars in the 
country amounted to nearly 1310,000,000. Of these, 
the treasury held nearly $228,000,000 against certificates 
which were circulating as money. At the same time 
out of the 1711,000,000 of gold coin and bullion in 
the country, §140,000,000 were held by the treasury 
against outstanding certificates. 



154 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

BANKS. 

The Bank of North America. — The first bank in 
the United States was the Bank of North America, char- 
tered by the Continental Congress and by the state of 
Pennsylvania, in 1781. Robert Morris was the chief 
agent in its establishment. It proved to be a great bless- 
ing to the country. Bills were issued, and were al- 
ways kept at par by the prompt payment of coin upon 
presentation. 

Control of Banks assumed by the Federal Govern- 
ment. — When the new Constitution was adopted, one 
of the questions early claiming the attention of the 
government was whether the regulation of banks en- 
dowed with the privilege of issuing notes belonged to 
the states or to the federal government. A majority of 
Congress assumed that it belonged to the federal gov- 
ernment, and passed a law for the establishment of 
a Bank of the United States, with the privilege of 
continuing in business for twenty years. During that 
period, the federal and the state governments main- 
tained banks of issue at the same time. This is now 
conceded to be bad policy. 

After a trial of twenty years, the federal government 
refused to re-charter the Federal Bank, and thus the 
banking business came entirely under state control. 
This continued for four years, till 1816, when there 
ensued such financial distress, that Congress chartered 
another national bank for twenty years. At the end of 



BANKS. 155 

this time Congress was prevented from re-chartering, 
first, by the veto of President Jackson, and afterwards 
by that of President Tyler. 

State Banks. — From 1836 till 1863 the banking 
business was left entirely under state control. Each 
state was free to adopt any system it chose. Some of 
the states made wise laws, and some banks conducted 
their business wisely, so that their bills were kept at 
par with gold. Other states made unwise laws, and a 
multitude of banks sprang up which were mere swin- 
dling institutions. It was found impossible to secure 
uniformity in the value of paper money. So long as a 
bank continued to pay gold upon presentation of its 
bills, they would circulate at par in its vicinity. But 
there were comparatively few state banks whose credit 
was such that their bills would circulate in all parts of 
the country. 

The New York Banking System. — In the midst 
of the Civil War our present banking system was 
adopted. Congress, in planning this system, had the 
benefit of the experience of the states, which had 
been conducting experiments in banking for more than 
twenty years. The state of New York had adopted a 
method by which, in case of the failure of a bank to 
redeem its bills in gold, the holders of them were 
secured against loss. It required the banks to deposit 
with a state officer a sufficient amount of property to 
redeem all the bills which they were allowed to issue. 
The property designated by law for this purpose was, 
for the most part, government bonds. Iowa, follow- 
ing the example of New York, had adopted a similar 
system, 



166 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDEBAL. 

National Banks. — Congress, in 1863, had to pro- 
vide means for carrying on a great war. The only way 
to get the money in sufficient quantities was by borrow- 
ing, that is, by selling bonds. As the New York system 
required banks of issue to purchase bonds, it occurred 
to congressmen that to charter national banks on such 
a system would create a demand for United States 
bonds. The state banks of issue were gotten out of 
the way by a special tax, which made it impossible for 
them to continue their circulation. 

The New York system permitted the banks to pur- 
chase a variety of bonds of state and municipal govern- 
ments. The federal system requires all banks of issue 
to buy United States bonds. These bonds are deposited 
with an officer in the Treasury Department, called 
the Comptroller of the Currency. The bills which 
the banks are permitted to issue are all printed in 
the Treasury Department at Washington. A com- 
pany of five or more citizens who wish to organize a 
national bank are required first to buy United States 
bonds. If they deposit bonds of a par value of 
$100,000, the government will then furnish to the 
bank |90,000 in blank bills, which, when signed by 
the proper officers of the bank, become notes of the 
bank, and may be loaned like other money. The bank 
is required to deposit a five per cent redemption fund, 
so that the amount of money available for business is 
less than $90,000. 

If a national bank fails, its bills are still good, be- 
cause the property of the bank held by the Comptroller 
of the Currency is amply sufficient for their redemp- 
tion. These bills are a convenient and satisfactory 



BANKS, 157 

medium of exchange, are everywhere of equal value, 
and are received without question. 

It would seem that, after a hundred years of experi- 
menting, we have settled at least one principle, namely, 
that the federal government shall control all forms of 
money. 

Treasury :N'otes. — We have a sort of paper money 
issued directly by the government, in the form of legal- 
tender notes, or " greenbacks." These likewise origi- 
nated in the Civil War. For many years this paper was 
forced upon the people by the power of government. 
During all this time it was a fluctuating and uncertain 
measure of value ; was worth less than gold, so that 
money of real value would not circulate at the same 
time. In 1879 the government began the payment of 
gold for greenbacks, upon presentation. Since then, 
greenbacks have freely circulated on a par with gold. 
They now have the same standing as bank notes. The 
Treasury Department of the government is made a sort 
of bank of issue. But instead of loaning the money, as 
other banks do, it pays it out for current expenses. 
The amount of greenbacks in circulation is about 
$350,000,000. The national bank notes in circulation in 
November, 1888, were about $240,000,000. The money 
of all kinds was $1,694,000,000. 

United States Bonds. — In 1865 the interest-bearing 
debt was $2,381,000,000 ; in 1888 it was a little more 
than $1,000,000,000; of this $714,000,000 are four per 
cent bonds, and are not payable until the year 1907. 
Many of the bonds are owned by national banks. As 
these bonds are paid off, the banks will come to an 
end unless the laws are changed. Under present laws 



158 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL, 

a national bank is compelled to own United States 
bonds. 

Bureau of Engraving and Printing. — To supply 
treasury notes, bank notes, silver and gold certificates 
and United States bonds, there is in the Treasury De- 
partment at Washington a Bureau of Engraving and 
Printing. To make counterfeiting difficult it is impor- 
tant that the plates be carefully engraved and that the 
paper be manufactured in a peculiar manner. 

The various kinds of business in the Treasury De- 
partment require the constant service of a very large 
force. The Post-Office is the only department that sur- 
passes it in the number of officials. In the importance 
of its business and in its close relation to the welfare 
of the people, it is inferior to none. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. 

Origin of the Postal Service. — Governments in 
early times provided means of communication between 
government officials ; but the carrying of private letters 
by the government is quite modern in its origin. In 
England this did not take place until about the time of 
the founding of English colonies in America. Before 
the government undertook the distribution of intelli- 
gence for individuals, this business was done by private 
enterprise. 

Massacliusetts, Virginia, and New York, — In 1639, 
the General Court of the colony of Massachusetts 



THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. 159 

ordered that the house of Richard Fairbanks should 
be the place for the receiving of all letters from beyond 
the sea. This is the first notice of any act of govern- 
ment on the subject in America. Mr. Fairbanks was 
allowed a penny for the delivery of each letter, and was 
made answerable for negligence. Previous to this time, 
when a ship landed in Boston, it was customary for 
families to send some one on board to receive their let- 
ters. Letters not delivered from shipboard were spread 
out on a table, at the nearest coffee-house. When a per- 
son from the country came in to the coffee-house to get 
letters, he would carry out all the letters for his local- 
ity, and deliver them himself, or leave them with the 
minister, or at an inn. Thus a rude postal system grew 
up ; and it was used not only in the delivery of letters 
from the port, but for communication between towns. 

In Virginia, the first law on this subject was passed 
in 1657. It required each planter, on pain of forfeiture 
of one hogshead of tobacco, to convey dispatches as 
they arrived to the next plantation. This law is proof 
of the prevailing custom of delivering letters from 
neighbor to neighbor ; the law undertook to compel the 
planters to be still more neighborly. The colony of 
New York established a monthly mail to Boston, as 
early as 1672. 

English Supervision. — The English government 
did nothing for the postal system in America until 
1704, when the office of postmaster-general for America 
was created. A law of Parliament regulated the rates 
in America. Not much was done towards the develop- 
ment of an efficient postal system until Benjamin Frank- 
lin was made deputy postmaster-general, in 1753. 



160 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

Franklin as Postmaster-General. — Franklin had 
for many years been postmaster of Philadelphia. He 
visited nearly all the offices then in the country, and so 
improved the service that, in a short time, the revenues 
paid all expenses, and furnished a surplus to the British 
treasury. For twenty years the business prospered in 
his hands ; but on account of his active opposition to 
English tyranny, he was removed from office in 1774. 
With the removal of Franklin, the English system col- 
lapsed, and postal business for a time was kept up only 
by private arrangement. 

Congress takes Control. — In 1775 the Continental 
Congress appointed a committee to devise a postal sys- 
tem for the colonies. Franklin was unanimously chosen 
Postmaster-General. When the United Colonies became 
the United States of America, by adopting the Declara- 
tion of Independence, in July, 1776, there had been in 
actual operation for the space of one year a general pos- 
tal system. The Articles of Confederation, adopted near 
the close of the Revolutionary War, recognized the main- 
tenance of the postal system as a part of the business of 
Congress. When the Constitution was adopted, in 1789, 
Congress recognized the Post-office Department as al- 
ready existing. No formal statute was ever passed 
creating this department. In 1829 Jackson first invited 
the Postmaster-General into the Cabinet. The Post- 
office Department, although the oldest in the govern- 
ment, was the last except the Department of the Interior 
and the Department of Agriculture to be represented in 
the Cabinet. 

It is difficult now to get into any place in the civil- 
ized world where it is not possible, for a trifling sum, 



THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, 161 

to communicate with friends by letters promptly carried 
and delivered. Nearly all the civilized nations of the 
earth are leagued together in a postal system. The 
Postmaster-General, with the concurrence of the Presi- 
dent, may make postal treaties with foreign countries. 

Division of the Business. — It is not possible to give 
the exact number of post-offices in the United States. 
The number of postmasters is not far from 60,000. 
For the management of this vast business, the Post- 
master-General has associated with him three assistants, 
and the work is systematized and divided between them. 
If one has a question about scales or the weight of mail 
matter, he corresponds with the first assistant Postmas- 
ter-General. If the question relate to a contract for 
carrying the mail, the correspondence is with the second 
assistant ; while the third assistant attends to the busi- 
ness of furnishing stamps, envelopes, and other materials. 

Officers in the postal service secure their places by 
appointment. The more important places are filled by 
the President; others by the Postmaster-General or the 
subordinate officers. In the offices where large numbers 
are employed, the appointments are made by competitive 
examinations. 

Salaries. — The highest salary in the postal service is 
•$8,000. This is the amount received by the Postmaster- 
General, and by the postmaster of New York. The 
compensation of other postmasters is graded, according 
to the business of the office, from $4,000 down to less 
than $5. 

Classification of Mail Matter. — Under our present 
laws there are four classes of mail matter. The first 
class consists of written matter, and matter in sealed 



162 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

envelopes, or sealed packages. The rate of postage 
is two cents for each ounce or fraction thereof. The 
second class consists chiefly of newspapers and maga- 
zines. To encourage the diffusion of news, these are 
carried from the office of publication at the rate of one 
cent a pound. It sometimes happens that the mailing 
of a newspaper by a person who is not the publisher 
costs as much as the subscription price including the 
postage. The third class includes all other printed 
matter, and the rate is one cent for every two ounces. 
Under the head of fourth class may be found various 
sorts of merchandise, and the rate is one cent an ounce. 
Competition with Private Business. — There ha.s 
been a tendency in the postal service to widen its 
sphere. In ancient times the flying post-rider carried 
nothing but messages of the government. When the 
government assumed the business of carrying private 
messages, it was brought into competition with private 
individuals who were doing the same business. Then 
the government took the monopoly, in order to be able 
to give to the entire country a uniform, cheap, and effi- 
cient mail service. Men could make a fortune by carry- 
ing the mail between New York and Philadelphia at 
government rates. The government does not allow 
private individuals to compete in the carrying of let- 
ters ; but if you wish to send a book or an article of 
merchandise, you may take your choice between the 
postal service and an express company. There is, there- 
fore, still some competition between the government 
and the express companies. The government is also 
engaged in the manufacture of envelopes, and thus 
comes into competition with another branch of private 



THE WAR AND THE NAVY JJEPABTMENTS. 163 

business. Banks furnish accommodations for the send- 
ing of money to distant places. The government pro- 
vides for registering letters, and opens a money order 
department, and thus competes with the banks in this 
business. In England, greatly to the convenience of 
the people, the government has provided postal savings 
banks. The English have likewise a system of postal 
telegraphy. It is not unlikely that both of these meas- 
ures will early be introduced into the American postal 
system. 

It will readily be seen that the postal business could not 
be done so satisfactorily by the separate states as by the 
federal government. It is a business which, from its 
very nature, involves business relations with all parts of 
the country and the world. It belongs therefore to gen- 
eral rather than to local government. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE V^AR AND THE NAVY DEPARTMENTS. 

The army and navy of the United States are small 
compared with those of other nations ; yet they absorb a 
large proportion of its revenue. The military establish- 
ments of the states amount to almost nothing. The 
Constitution of the United States forbids the states to 
keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, or to '' en- 
gage in war unless actually invaded, or in such immi- 
nent danger as will not admit of delay." ^ The states may 
keep arms, and provide for the drilling of the militia.^ 
1 Art. I. sec. 10, cl. 3. 2 ^rt. I. sec. 8, cl. 16. 



164 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

The regular army of the federal government serves 
as a national police in the territories and newly settled 
states. It has been frequently called into service in 
Indian warfare. A portion of the army is kept on duty 
at the various forts and arsenals of the United States. 

Aid to the States. — It is expected that each state 
will preserve order within its own limits. In case of 
riot, if the sheriff be not able to quell it, it is the duty 
of the governor to do so with the state militia. But the 
state legislature or the governor, when the legislature 
cannot be convened, may call upon the President of the 
United States for aid. It then becomes the duty of the 
President to use sufficient force to quell the riot and 
restore order. There have been few instances where the 
aid of the federal government has been invoked to assist 
a state in preserving order. In the case of Dorr's Re- 
bellion, in Rhode Island, there was a dispute as to who 
was the rightful governor ; civil war was threatened, 
and the President was called upon to restore order. 
For several years after the Civil War, United States 
troops were often used to preserve order in the Southern 
States. In the railroad riots of 1877, the United States 
troops assisted Pennsylvania in preserving order. 

State Aid to the Federal Government. — The Presi- 
dent of the United States, when resistance to the federal 
laws becomes too formidable to be overcome by the forces 
at his command, may call for aid from the states most 
conveniently situated. It then becomes the duty of the 
state government to furnish such part of the state mili- 
tia as may be called for. President Washington, in the 
time of the Whiskey Rebellion, in 1794, called upon the 
adjacent states ; and they responded to his call. When 



THE WAR AND THE NAVY DEPARTMENTS, 165 

the state calls upon the President for aid, the federal 
officers retain command of the troops used. When the 
President calls upon a state for aid, the state militia 
enter the federal service, and become subject to the com- 
mand of the President. At the beginning of the Civil 
War, President Lincoln called upon the loyal states for 
troops to assist in enforcing the laws of the United 
States. The states responded promptly, furnishing all 
the forces necessary to maintain the integrity of the 
Union. 

Separate Navy Department, — In the organization 
of the Executive under Washington's administration, 
there was but one department for the army and the 
navy. A separate department for the navy was created 
in 1798. The secretaries of these departments are mem- 
bers of the Cabinet. They have the general care of all 
the property and persons connected with the service of 
the army' and the navy. 

Various kinds of governmental business are con- 
nected with these departments besides their strictly 
military work. During a part of our history the Indian 
affairs were in the hands of the War Department. 

The Signal Service. — It is often desirable, on the 
field of battle, to communicate more rapidly with the 
different parts of the field than can be done by means of 
messengers. A system of signals has therefore been 
adopted, by which information may be sent instantly as 
far as they can be seen. The electric telegraph is also 
used wherever practicable. To train a class of men, 
and make them efficient in the duties of the signal 
service, a school has been established at Fort Whipple 
in Virginia. One of the early uses of the signal service 



166 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

was to give notice to military commanders of an ap- 
proaching storm. To this end it was natural that 
threatening conditions of the atmosphere should be no- 
ticed and reported. Similar observations were taken 
at the viarious light-houses and life-saving stations ; and 
storm signals were put out, when necessary, to warn 
ship-masters. 

Meteorological Bureau. — From these beginnings 
there has grown up, in connection with the signal ser- 
vice, a Meteorological Bureau. There are nearly two 
hundred stations, in the various parts of the country, 
where careful observations are made ; and three times 
each day, at almost the same instant, reports are sent 
to the central office at Washington. From the study of 
these reports, the probable changes in the weather for 
the next twenty-four hours are made out for the differ- 
ent parts of the country, and the news is published by 
bulletins in the daily papers and elsewhere. From the 
central office orders are sent to display warning signals 
at such ports as are threatened with a dangerous storm. 
Bulletins are displayed in some post-offices, for the ben- 
efit of farmers, in planning their work and saving their 
crops. 

The signal service takes notice also of the tides on 
the coast, and the rise and fall of lakes and rivers. 
Thus the people are forewarned of an approaching flood. 

By co-operation with Aveather observers of other 
countries, the science of meteorology is being rapidly 
advanced. This service, which had its origin in the 
destructive arts of war, has come to be most salutary in 
the arts of peace, and, incidentally, has become a link 
in uniting nations. 



THE WAR AND THE NAVY DEPARTMENTS, 167 

Other Aids to the Arts of Peace. — Another illus- 
tration of the way in which the military service has 
come to be useful in non-military pursuits, is found in 
the engineer corps. War demands the most skilful en- 
gineering ; for it includes the making of arms, ships of 
war, forts, bridges, and railroads. These things, and 
many others, have to be done with great expedition and 
efficiency. 

The trained officials which the government supports 
primarily for war have been found useful for other pur- 
poses. When the city of Washington needed a water 
supply, the engineers of the War Department planned 
and constructed the great aqueduct. The chief engi- 
neer of the War Department has charge of the public 
buildings and grounds in the District of Columbia. 
Military engineers are constantly employed upon the 
rivers and harbors of the country. Bridges have been 
built primarily for the use of the army, but incidentally 
for the benefit of others. Public surveys are made, 
and maps are constructed, which add to our knowledge 
of geography. The Bureau of Navigation is maintained 
ostensibly for the benefit of the United States Navy; 
but it probably renders its most important service to 
commerce and science. In a similar way the practice 
of medicine and surgery in the army and navy is made 
to contribute largely to the general science of medicine. 



168 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

CHAPTER XXX, 

THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT. 

Previous to the year 1849, the government of our 
Indian tribes, the government of our territories, the 
disposition of public lands, and various other matters 
pertaining to internal administration, were attended to 
by the State Department. To relieve it of all such mat- 
ters, the Interior Department was organized by act of 
Congress in 1849. If one wishes to get a patent upon 
some invention, he corresponds with the Commissioner 
of Patents, in the Interior Department. If he wishes 
to secure a pension, he corresponds with a Commissioner 
of Pensions, in the same department. Information 
about schools of learning in all parts of the world may 
be obtained from its Bureau of Education. If the crops 
are threatened with destruction by insects, there is in 
this department an Entomological Commissioner,^ whose 
business it is to suggest ways and means for saving the 
crops from their ravages. 

The census office is attached to the Department of 
the Interior. It has charge also of a hospital for the in- 
sane of the army and navy, a college for deaf-mutes, and 
hospitals for the sick. 

From the date of the organization of the Department, 
the Secretary of the Interior has been a member of the 
President's Cabinet. Part of the business of the Depart- 
ment will, in the natural course of events, pass away. 
If the territories should all become states, as they are 
likely to do, then the Interior Department would have 
1 Now in the Agricultural Department. 



THE INTEBIOR DEPARTMENT, 169 

no farther care for their government. If the Indian 
tribes should cease to exist, and the Indians should come 
to be treated as citizens, the Interior Department would 
be relieved from all care for their government. As fast 
as the public domain passes into the hands of private 
individuals, or into the hands of states, the department 
ceases to have anything to do with the land. Other 
kinds of business, however, will increase in amount and 
in importance. 

Land Surveys. — The Department of the Interior has 
charge of the public lands until they become the prop- 
erty of individuals or of states. Before land can be sold 
to individuals, it is necessary that boundaries be accu- 
rately fixed. For this purpose, a system of land surveys 
was adopted during Washington's administration. 

Townships. — The honor of devising our admirable 
system of United States surveys has been attributed to 
Thomas Hutchins, first Geographer of the United States. 
According to this system, the land is first divided into 
squares by meridians and parallels, six miles apart. 
These squares are called townships^ and serve the double 
purpose of locating land and of furnishing the boun- 
daries for local governments. A row of townships run- 
ning north and south is called a range. As civil gov- 
ernments, townships receive proper names, as Washing- 
ton or Madison ; but for the location of lands they are 
designated by numbers. 

Principal Meridians and Base Lines. — The sur- 
veyors begin their work by selecting some natural object, 
easily distinguished ; and from this, as an initial point, 
they mark off, north and south, a true meridian, called 
in the system a principal meridian. Crossing the prin- 



170 



MATTEBS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 



cipal meridian at right angles, they establish a true 
parallel, called the base line. Upon each of these lines 
the surveyors leave marks, a half-mile apart, throughout 
the entire length. 

Range lines are run north and south six miles apart 
on either side of the principal meridian. These lines 
and the ranges of townships they mark off, are num- 
bered east or west from the principal meridian. Range 

M 



B = 



6 



3 



6 



P 

Fig. 3. 

P. M. = Principal Meridian ; B. L. == Base Line. The numbers on the 
base line mark the range lines ; the numbers on the principal 
meridian mark the township lines. Z is in range 6 west, and is 
in township 5 north ; T is in range 6 east, and in township 4 south. 

16 west means either a line 96 miles west from the prin- 
cipal meridian, or the adjoining range of townships. R. 
20 east is the 20th range east, or the 20th range line, 
20 X 6 = 120 miles east, from the principal meridian. 



THE INTEBIOB DEPARTMENT. 



171 



Township lines are run six miles apart, parallel with 
the base line. They are numbered north or south from 
the base line. Township No. 12 S. means a township 
whose south line is situated 72 miles south of the base 
line. 

The annexed diagram (Fig. 3) may serve to explain 
the system. The range lines are meridians ; the town- 
ship lines are parallels of latitude. 

Correction liines, — If the surveys are accurately 
made, the township lines are just six miles apart through- 
out. But since the range lines run north and south, 
they are not parallel, but converge towards the pole of 
the earth's axis. Two 
lines, in latitude 42° 
north, starting six 
miles apart, and run- 
ning due north six 
miles, will be about 
three rods nearer to- 
gether than at the 
starting points. 
Range lines start six 
miles apart at the ^ 

base line ; conse- 
quently, north of the 
base line they are less than six miles apart. In lati- 
tude 42°, at the distance of 60 miles from the base line, 
the township lacks 30 rods of being six miles east and 
west. To prevent this narrowing process from destroy- 
ing the system, the surveyors measure out from the 
principal meridian, and establish a new base line, called 
a correction line^ as indicated in Fig. 4. 



Fig. 4. 



172 



MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 



Sections. — Each township is subdivided into thirty- 
six sections, as indicated in Fig. 5. 

A section contains 640 acres. The surveyors begin at 
the southeast corner of the township to mark the boun- 
daries of the sections. If the work is accurate, all the 
sections are perfect except those on the west side ; these 

are always imper- 
fect, or "fractional." 
On the north side 
also it generally hap- 
pens that, on account 
of inaccuracies, the 
survey of the sec- 
tions does not cor- 
respond with the 
township survey; 
hence, a lot on the 
north side of the 
township is gener- 
ally fractional, con- 
taining more or less than the ordinary quantity. 

The United States survey ends with the location of 
the section lines. Marks are made by the surveyors at 
the corners of the sections, and also half-mile marks be- 
tween the corners. Purchasers measure from these 
marks to determine the situation of their land. 

The government sells the land in lots of 40 acres, or 
multiples thereof. In each section there are 16 of these 
lots, as indicated in Fig. 6. 

Lots A, B, C, and D, taken together, are one-fourth 
of the entire section, and are described as N. E. J of 
Section 9. A alone is described as N. E. J of N. E. ^ of 



6 


5 


4 


3 


2 


1 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


18 


17 


16 


15 


14 


13 


19 


20 


21 


22 


23 


24 


30 


29 


28 


27 


26 


25 


31 


32 


3S 


34 


35 


36 



Fig. 5. 



OTHER FEBEBAL MATTERS. 



173 



Section 9. E is S. W. J of S. W. I of Section 9. E and 
F together are described as S. -I of S. W. \ of Section 9. 
The following is the complete description of 160 acres 
of land, according to the United States surveys " The 
southeast one-fourth (S. E. J) 
of section number nine (9) in 
township eighty-one (81) north ; 
range eighteen (18) west of the 
fifth principal meridian." The 
fifth P.M. runs near Dubuque, 
Iowa. Range 18 is 18x6 = 
108 miles west of Dubuque. 
The base line of this survey 
runs near Little Rock, Ark. 
Township 81 is therefore, on its 

north boundary, 81 X 6 = 486 miles north of Little 
Rock. Having by these numbers found the township, 
it will be seen by reference to Fig. 6 that the southeast 
corner of Section 9 is three miles from the township 
line east or west, and two miles from the north line. 
By means of this simple system, any lot of land may be 
conveniently located. 







B 


A 






C 


D 










E 


F 







Fig. 6. — Sec. 9. 



CHAPTER XXXL 

OTHER FEDERAL MATTERS. 



Department of Justice. — The Attorney General of 
the United States and the corresponding officers in the 
various states are usually classed as judicial rather than 
executive officers. The Attorney General is however 



174 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

a member of the President's Cabinet. He gives ad- 
vice on questions of law to the President and the heads 
of departments. He is assisted in his judicial busi- 
ness by a Solicitor General and the Assistant Attorney- 
General. 

These officers appear on behalf of the United States 
in the court of claims and in other courts when needed 
for the interests of the government. The Attorney 
General has a supervisory control over the United 
States attorneys, marshals, and clerks, who are connected 
with the United States courts. 

Agricultural Department. — From the beginning of 
our history the diplomatic and consular agents of the 
government have been in the habit of collecting infor- 
mation for the benefit of our agricultural interests. 
Seeds and plants have likewise been procured, and ex- 
perimental stations have been established to test their 
value and to conduct other agricultural experiments. 
Officers of the government have tested various methods 
of manufacturing sugar from sorghum and from beets. 
The diseases of domestic animals and the insects which 
destroy crops have been investigated, to discover means 
of protection. The information thus collected has been 
published for distribution among farmers. This work 
in their interest was first in the hands of the Depart- 
ment of State, later in those of the Department of the 
Interior, then in the hands of an independent Com- 
missioner of Agriculture; and in 1888 the Department 
of Agriculture was elevated to Cabinet rank, and a 
Secretary of Agriculture was appointed. 

The Smithsonian Institution. — In 1829 Mr. James 
Smithson, an Englishman, died, leaving property under 



OTHER FEBEBAL MATTERS. 175 

certain contingencies, to the United States, to found an 
institution for the advancement and diffusion of knowl- 
edge. From this bequest more than a half-million of 
dollars were paid over to the United States. The trust 
was accepted by act of Congress in July, 1836, and in 
1846 the Smithsonian Institution was founded. The 
management of the institution and the administration of 
its income is placed by act of Congress in the hands of 
a board of regents, consisting of the Chief Justice of the 
United States, the Vice-President, three Senators ap- 
pointed by the Vice-President, three Representatives 
appointed by the Speaker of the House, and six citizens 
chosen by joint resolution of the two houses of Con- 
gress. Besides the board of regents, the establishment 
has other members, including the President of the 
United States, Cabinet officers, and the Commissioner 
of Patents. The fund is borrowed by the government 
and an annual interest of six per cent is paid to the insti- 
tution. The original fund has increased to $1,000,000 
by savings from the income. 

Business of the Institution. — In accordance with the 
terms of the bequest, a part of the income is expended 
to promote the increase of knowledge and a part for its 
diffusion. To promote the increase of knowledge, re- 
wards are offered to stimulate research, and men are 
employed to conduct investigations in various depart- 
ments of learning. Knowledge is diffused by three 
series of publications : 1, contributions to knowledge i 
2, miscellaneous collections ; 3, annual reports. The 
annual reports are published and distributed at the 
expense of the government. For many years the insti- 
tution conducted investigations in meteorology. This 



176 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL, 

work has now passed into the hands of the signal ser« 
vice bureau of the War Department. 

The National Museum. — The buildings of the 
Smithsonian Institution are made the repository of the 
National Museum, and the Secretary of the Institution 
is its curator. For a time funds of the Institution were 
expended in the collection of specimens. At present 
the museum is maintained entirely by appropriations 
from Congress. 

The Interstate Commerce Commission. — In 1889 
there were twenty-seven states which had chosen rail- 
road commissioners, to carry into effect state laws con- 
cerning railways. In nine of these states the commis- 
sioners were empowered to fix fares and freight rates, 
and to enforce the observance of their regulations. But 
a state can exercise no control over a railway beyond 
its limits. In 1887 Congress, therefore, passed a law 
to regulate interstate commerce, and the enforcement of 
this law was placed in the hands of five commissioners, 
appointed by the President with the approval of the 
Senate. This commission is not connected with any of 
the departments of the executive. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

LEGISLATION. 

The Legislature and Executive compared in Num- 
ber. — In the two houses of Congress there are only 
a little more than four hundred legislators. As has 
been shown in a former chapter, there are engaged 



LEGISLATION, 177 

in the execution of their laws about 200,000 persons. 
A few score of men, met together in a state legis- 
lature once in two years, may in a few weeks make 
all the laws for the government of a great state ; yet, in 
the administration of these laws, thousands may be 
constantly employed. Congress might in a few weeks 
perfect a law for postal telegraphy. To work the system 
would take thousands of officials forever after. It re- 
quires few men to make the laws ; it requires multitudes 
to execute them. A good law once made, is made for 
all time, or until circumstances change. Much of the 
time of legislatures is consumed in determining what 
are good laws. If citizens were agreed upon them, the 
work of legislation would be even less than it is. 

liCgislative Business. — The general scope of legis- 
lative business may be learned from what has been said 
in former chapters. The number of federal courts, the 
number of judges and their pay, the sort of business 
which comes before them, and the method of procedure 
where not fixed by the text of the Constitution, are all 
determined by laws of Congress. 

We may learn still farther what Congress has done, 
by noticing what the President and his Cabinet and 
the thousands of federal officers are doing in the work 
of administration. They are all carrying into effect the 
laws of Congress ; their compensation and the method 
of entering office are determined by law. What a state 
legislature has done is learned by noticing state institu- 
tions and their method of management, the organization 
and government of counties, cities, towns, townships, 
and school districts, and the organization and proceed- 
ings of the system of state courts. Nearly all official 



178 MATTEBS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

acts of state and local officers are performed in accord- 
ance with laws passed by the state legislature. 

Financiering'. — We are still living under many of 
the laws passed during Washington's administration. 
In each state many of the laws made by the first legis- 
lature are still in force ; but there is one duty laid upon 
Congress and the state legislatures which must be re- 
peated and, in a certain sense, performed anew at each 
session. At each session the legislature must appro- 
priate money to meet the expenses of the government 
for the period between the terms. Perfect financiering 
would result in such an adjustment of the income and 
the expenditure of the government, that the one would 
at all times balance the other. The government, by hav- 
ing at one time a large surplus idle in the treasury, and 
at another an empty treasury unable to meet its obliga- 
tions, may inflict a serious injury upon the business of 
the country. It is comparatively easy in the states, to 
adjust income and expenditure. There is ordinarily 
one simple source of income, and the expenditures are 
easily estimated; but the work of Congress is more 
difficult. The sources of income are numerous; the 
exact amount yielded from month to month is de- 
pendent upon conditions of trade which cannot be fore- 
seen ; and there are items in the expenditure Avhich are 
not easily estimated. During the greater part of the 
time since the Civil War, Congress has been relieved 
from the necessity of exact financiering, on account of 
the existence of a public debt, to the payment of which 
all surplus revenues could be applied. During Presi- 
dent Cleveland's administration, all the bonds which 
were due had been paid, and the income of the treasury 



LEGISLATION. 179 

exceeded the expenditure by more than a hundred 
million dollars. Disaster was averted by purchasing 
at a premium bonds which were not due, and by deposit- 
ing funds with banks in order to secure their return into 
the channels of trade. 

Ijocal Option, — In former chapters it has been shown 
that school districts, townships, towns, cities, and coun- 
ties exercise powers of subordinate or local legislation. 
Town meetings, or representative bodies in these munic- 
ipalities, estimate local expenses and vote a tax to 
meet them, and adopt and enforce various regulations, 
rules, and by-laws of local concern. Many projects 
requiring the expenditure of unusual sums of money 
can be authorized only by a general vote of the munic- 
ipality. Besides the ordinary powers of local legis- 
lation, the state legislature often commits to counties 
or townships the duty of deciding specific questions, 
such as the restraining of domestic animals from running 
at large, or the destruction of noxious weeds and ani- 
mals. Among questions of this sort, that which has 
received the largest share of attention in recent years 
is, whether the local governments within the state shall 
have the power to regulate or prohibit the liquor traffic 
within their limits. This is called '' Local Option." 



180 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE CONSTITUTIO]^^ AND THE LEGISLATURE. 

More than half of the Constitution of the United 
States, leaving out the amendments, relates to the leg- 
islature. A large part of each state constitution is 
occupied with the same subject. There is a striking 
similarity as to form and organization between a state 
legislature and the Congress of the United States. 
Many important facts may be learned about the organi- 
zation and the business of Congress, by reading over 
the first half of the Constitution. 

Basis of Representation. — Two senators are sent 
from each state. In the Senate the smallest or the least 
populous state has equal representation with the most 
populous. The first House of Representatives had sixty- 
five members, the number for each state being prescribed 
by the Constitution. Since the first census, the appor- 
tionment of the representatives among the states has 
been according to the population. As the Constitu- 
tion was first framed, all freemen^ except Indians not 
taxed, were counted, including those held to service 
for a term of years, as apprentices and convicts, and 
to these were added three-fifths of the slaves.^ By 
the thirteenth amendment abolishing slavery, and the 
fourteenth amendment requiring enfranchised negroes 
to be counted, and the fifteenth amendment, which con- 
fers the franchise upon all freedmen, it has come about 
that all persons in the states, except Indians not taxed, 

1 Art. I. sec. 2, cl. 3. 



THE CONSTITUTION AND THE LEGISLATUBE, 181 

are now counted in determining the number of repre- 
sentatives. 

Apportioning Representatives among the States. 

— After the taking of the census, Congress is required 
by the Constitution to apportion the members of the 
House on the basis of population, each state having at 
least one member. The law of 1792 gave to each state 
one member for each 33,000 of its population. On this 
basis, there were in all 105 members. In 1803 the same 
ratio continued, and made the whole number 141. In 
1813 the ratio was changed t-o one for every 35,000. 
This gave the House 181 members. A ratio of 40,000 
to one representative in 1823, gave 212 members. A 
ratio of 47,500 in 1833 gave 240 members. Previous 
to 1842, no account was taken of fractional parts of the 
ratio. In that year the law fixed the ratio at one 
member for every 70,680 people, and provided that an 
additional member should be given to each state where 
there was a fractional remainder of more than half 
of the ratio. At this time the members were reduced 
to 223. After the census of 1850, a new plan was 
adopted, which has been followed since, of first deciding 
how many members shall constitute the House, and then 
dividing the entire population by this number to find 
the ratio of representation. The population of each 
state is divided by the ratio thus found, and if the sum 
of the quotients do not equal the number fixgd for the 
House, additional members are assigned to the states 
having the largest remainders, until the required number 
is complete. After 1880 the number of members of the 
House was fixed at 325. The entire population as 



182 MATTEBS CHIEFLY FEDEBAL, 

found by the census being divided by that number, 
gave a quotient of 151,911. 

Members from Territories. — The Constitution says 
nothing about representatives from territories, but it 
gives to Congress power to " make all needful rules and 
regulations respecting the territory or other property 
belonging to the United States." ^ Among the rules 
which Congress has chosen to make, is a law permitting 
each organized territory to send to the House of Repre- 
sentatives one delegate, who has a right to take part 
in the debates, but has no vote. The representatives 
from territories are expected to inform the House of the 
needs of their constituents. 

Representative Districts. — The Constitution re- 
quires both senators and representatives to reside in the 
state from which they are sent.^ Senators, being chosen 
by the state legislature, are looked upon as representing 
the entire state. It has been the habit of state legis- 
latures from the beginning to divide the state into as 
many districts as there are representatives, and to allow 
each district to elect one member. In 1872 Congress 
passed a law requiring the states to be thus divided. 
The law, however, made provision that in case addi- 
tional members were assigned to a state on a new 
apportionment, these might be chosen, in the first in- 
stance, from the state at large. There is nothing in the 
law or the^Constitution which requires a representative 
to be chosen from the inhabitants of the district; but 
nearly all representatives do reside in the district which 
elects them. In Great Britain there is no such custom. 
Any member of the House of Commons may be chosen 

J Art. IV, sec. 3. 2 Art. I. sec. 2, cl. 2, and sec 3, cl. 3, 



THE CONSTITUTION AND THE LEGISLATURE. 183 

from any district in England, Wales, Scotland, or Ire- 
land. An English statesman who wins a national repu- 
tation may be sure of a seat in the House of Commons. 
If defeated in one district he is invited to become a 
candidate in another. 

Sessions of Congress. — Representatives are elected 
in each year designated by an even number. Their 
term of office begins on March 4 of the following year, 
and continues two years. It covers two of the annual 
sessions of Congress, which begin on the first Monday in 
December. The first of these sessions may last a year, 
but the second must close by March 4, at mid-day, 
when the term expires. They are popularly designated 
as the long and the short sessions. Representatives do 
not take their seats until more than a year after they are 
elected unless convened earlier in extra session. That 
is, the members chosen in November, 1888, will take their 
seats for the first time in December, 1889. It has been 
proposed to have the terms begin and close on some 
other day, as April 80. 

There is a new Congress every two years, though 
only one-third of the senators are newly elected. The 
Congresses have been numbered from the beginning. 
The 50th Congress closed the first century of the Con- 
stitution, the 40th ended in 1869. The date of the laws 
and the documents of Congress is often indicated by 
the number and session of the Congress. "XL., I." 
means the session which began March 4, and ended 
December 2, 1867, being an extra session. 

Officers of the two Houses. — The Constitution 
gives to each house the power to choose its own officers, 
but, except in the case of the presiding officers, it does 



184 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

not name the officers or define their duties. Each 
house has scores of officers with their assistants, the 
most important of whom are ; 1. In the Senate a secre- 
tary, and in the House a clerk, who serve as chief minis- 
terial agents of their respective houses, and officially 
communicate their acts. 2. A sergeant-at-arms in each 
house, who assists in the preservation of order. 3. A 
door-keeper, who has the care of the room in which the 
meeting of the house is held. 4. A chaplain who opens 
each daily session with prayer. 

The President pro tempore. — The Vice-President 
is made by the Constitution the presiding officer of the 
Senate. In his absence the Senate is empowered to 
choose a president pro tempore. It is customary early 
in the session for the Vice-President to leave the room, 
while the Senate proceeds to elect a president pro tem- 
pore as a permanent officer; then, if at any time the 
Vice-President is absent, the business of the Senate is 
not interrupted for an election. When the office of Vice- 
President becomes vacant, the president pro tempore 
receives the same salary as the Vice-President, and he is 
often improperly called the Vice-President. The Vice- 
President is not a senator, and he has no vote except in 
case of a tie. A president pro tempore is a senator, and 
he has his regular vote on every question. In case of a 
tie he has no extra vote. 

The Speaker of the House. — From the text of the 
Constitution we learn that the presiding officer in the 
House is called ''speaker,"^ after the analogy of the 
House of Commons. The Constitution gives no idea of 
the powers and duties of this officer. It does not even 
1 Art. I. sec. 2, cl. 5. 



METHODS OF CONDUCTING BUSINESS. 185 

determine whether he is a member of the House. Cus- 
tom and the rules of the House have made the speaker's 
position inferior to none in the government in power 
and influence. In the first Congress the House chose 
one of its own members as speaker, and a rule was 
passed that, unless otherwise ordered, the speaker should 
name the committees of the House. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

METHODS OF CONDUCTING BUSINESS. 

Leg-islation by Committees. — The number of mem- 
bers being at first small, the House for many years met 
in a small room, and during much of that time the 
quantity of business to be transacted was not great. 
While these conditions existed, the House as a whole 
had a large share in the work of making laws. But as 
the House has increased in size, and the business has 
greatly increased, and the sessions are now held in a 
room too large for effective speaking, it has become 
more and more customary to legislate by means of com- 
mittees. 

The Speaker and the Comimittees. — The speaker 
is usually a leading member of the political party hav- 
ing a majority in the House. Having been elected at 
the first assembly of the House, one of his earliest duties 
is to name the standing committees. These have special 
charge of different kinds of business. They are more 
than fifty in number, and each committee is composed 
of from three to fifteen members. It is expected that 



186 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

every member will have a place on some committee, and 
often the same member serves on several committees at 
once. The positions of chairmen are given to the men 
of influence in the speaker's own party, but usually 
each committee has on it men from both parties. The 
entire course of legislation is largely determined by the 
way in which the committees are made up. 

What the Coniinittees do. — On Monday of each 
week a roll of the states is called, for the introduction 
of bills. Any member may bring in a bill, and it is re- 
ferred to the appropriate committee. During the year 
from six to eight thousand bills are thus referred. Most 
of them are never heard of again. Some bills which 
meet with a committee's approval are taken up, dis- 
cussed in secret session, sometimes are made the subject 
of conference with parties interested, are worked over, 
changed, and in time reported back to the House with 
the recommendation that they pass. If bills which suit 
their views are not proposed by other members, they 
frame bills themselves, and secure their introduction 
and reference. Each committee thus prepares certain 
bills which they are anxious to have enacted into laws. 

Cominittees before the House. — On an average 
about two hours per year of the time of Congress may 
be allowed to each committee to secure action upon its 
reports. Two hours is a short time to discuss even one 
bill. It is not possible that many should be acted upon 
in any other than a formal way. They pass without 
being understood by the great body of members. The 
committees are generally the only members intimately 
acquainted with a bill. The chairman of the committee, 
having an hour at his disposal, usually occupies a part 



METHODS OF CONDUCTING BUSINESS. 187 

of the time himself and distributes the remainder to 
such other members as he wishes to have speak, includ- 
ing some who are opposed to the measure. The speaker 
"recognizes" only such members as the committee have 
selected to speak. 

Appropriation Bills and Revenue Bills. — The rules 
of the houses of Congress require that before a bill be- 
comes a law it shall pass three separate readings. The 
first and second readings occur when the bill is intro- 
duced and is referred to a committee. At this time 
there is rarely any opposition or discussion. If the bill 
meets the approval of the committee they report it back 
to the House with the recommendation that it pass. 
It is usually at this stage, if at all, that the measure 
receives the attention of the entire House. If it is a 
matter of general interest, the House may go into com- 
mittee of the whole, in which case the speaker calls 
some other member to the chair, and the assembly pro- 
ceeds by less formal rules to review the measure and 
consider amendments. After the committee stage, the 
bill passes the third reading. The Constitution makes 
the House of Representatives the source of all bills for 
raising revenue.^ The committee of ways and means 
has charge of revenue bills. A rule of the House 
requires that all bills reported by this committee and 
those reported by the committee on appropriations be 
considered in committee of the whole House. This 
makes it more difficult for bills of this character to be 
passed without a knowledge of their contents. 

It thus appears that the House, instead of being one 
compact body, working together in the making of laws, 
1 Art. I sec. 7, cl. 1. 



188 MATTERS CHIEFLY FEDERAL, 

is broken up into more than fifty bodies ; and only a 
very limited number of the laws which it enacts receive 
the attention of the entire House. 

The Senate Committees. — The standing committees 
in the Senate are not so numerous as those in the House. 
They are not chosen by the presiding officer, but are 
elected by vote of the Senate. The political party hav- 
ing a majority is thus enabled to control the organiza- 
tion of the committees. The Senate committees have 
less power than those of the House. The Senate is a 
smaller body, and occupies a smaller room. A much 
larger proportion of the senators become acquainted 
with the work of its committees, and take part in review- 
ing their action. 

Co-operation of the two Houses. — All bills except 
revenue bills may originate in either of the two houses. 
When a bill has passed the third reading in the house 
in which it originated, it is carried to the other house, 
and is there subjected to a like process. It is read a 
first and second time and referred to a committee ; it 
is reported back to the house for action ; it may be 
amended in committee or in the house ; it is read a 
third time and passed. If the bill has suffered no 
amendment it goes at once to the President for his sig- 
nature. If it has been amended it goes back to the 
house in which it originated. If the house accepts the 
amendments of the other chamber then the bill goes to 
the President. It often happens that the two houses 
have difficulty in agreeing as to the form of the bill. 
In that case a committee of conference is named by 
each house, and the two committees seek to agree upon 
a compromise to recommend to the two houses. It is 



METHODS OF CONDUCTING BUSINESS, 189 

not until the two houses adopt the same form that the 
bill is presented to the President. A "bill" becomes 
an " act " or " law " when it is signed by the Presi- 
dent, or is passed by a two-thirds vote of each house 
over his veto, or has been kept by him ten working 
days while Congress is in session. 

Senatorial Executive Business. — The Senate has 
a large amount of so-called executive business. Many 
of the appointments made by the President require the 
approval of the Senate. Treaties are negotiated by the 
President or by persons appointed by him, but before 
they go into effect they must receive the approval of 
two-thirds of the Senate. While attending to business 
of this character the Senate sits with closed doors. 

Impeachments. — The word impeach is often used 
inaccurately, as when it is said that Congress tried to 
impeach Andrew Johnson, but failed. The House of 
Representatives did impeach President Johnson; that 
is, it preferred charges against him and arraigned him 
before the Senate for trial. This is all that is meant 
by impeachment. Impeachment may be compared to 
an indictment. If an indicted person is acquitted in 
the trial, we do not say that the grand jury failed to 
indict. What the House failed to do in the case of 
President Johnson was to get the Senate to convict 
him. The impeachment was voted by a large majority 
in the House. An able committee of the House con- 
ducted the prosecution before the Senate, who, accord- 
ing to the Constitution, " have the sole power to try all 
impeachments."^ To convict requires a vote of two- 
thirds of the members present. In the case of Mr. 
1 Art. I. sec. 3, cl. 6. 



190 MATTEBS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

Johnson there was lacking one vote of the necessary 
two-thirds. 

There have been thus far, besides the case of 
Andrew Johnson, six instances of impeachment in 
Congress. Four of those impeached were judges in the 
federal courts ; one was a Cabinet officer ; one, a United 
States senator. Of the seven only two have been con- 
victed. In 1862 a federal district judge in Kentucky 
was impeached for aiding in the Rebellion. He was 
convicted, removed from office, and disqualified from 
again holding office under the United States. This 
is the extreme penalty allowed by the Constitution. 

"Lobby Members/' — The rooms surrounding the 
legislative chambers are called lobbies. Members of 
the Legislature are accustomed to retire there for con- 
versation and to meet their friends. The Constitution 
recognizes the right of petition for a redress of griev- 
ances.^ As ordinarily understood, a petition is a written 
request presented to the entire House. The legislature 
can often be moved more effectively by private inter- 
views with the few members who have control of the 
matter of interest. Railroad companies, manufacturers, 
and men engaged in other industries which may be 
benefited or injured by changes in the laws ; states, 
cities or other bodies desiring appropriations for some 
public improvement; reformers, and all other classes 
who are anxious to secure some legislation, are accus- 
tomed, instead of relying upon open petition to Con- 
gress, to employ men and women Avho are skilled in the 
art of influencing legislators. Multitudes of these are 
supported in Washington, some with higher salaries 

1 Amendment I. 



METHODS OF CONDUCTING BUSINESS. 191 

than members of Congress. They are known as mem- 
bers of the lobby, or the "third chamber." Some men 
of talent continue long in this work. The fact that so 
large a share of legislation is by means of committees 
sitting in secret is peculiarly favorable to the power of 
a lobbyist. 

Political Parties in England. — Congress has always 
been the chief source and centre of party life. A 
private meeting of members of one political party 
for conference is called a Congressional Caucus. It 
is by means of the caucus that each party is enabled 
to keep its members in harmony in the two houses. 
In the English Parliament, the parties are kept in har- 
monious action through the agency of the Cabinet. 
The Cabinet is called the ''government." Members 
of the political party which for the time is in the major- 
ity and supports the government, sit together at the 
right of the speaker, the members of the Cabinet occu- 
pying the front bench. The front bench on the left is 
occupied by the recognized leaders of the opposition, 
and other members of the party in opposition sit on 
the same side of the chamber. All important bills, espe- 
cially all bills involving party issues, are introduced by 
the Cabinet. The line of action of the party in oppo- 
sition is determined by its recognized leaders. The 
members of the party are seldom left in doubt as to 
the position of their party. 

Parties in Congress. — In the Congress of the United 
States there is no cabinet ; there is usually no distinct 
party committed to the support of the government. It 
often happens that the President and the majority in 
one or both houses of Congress are of opposite parties. 



192 MATTEBS CHIEFLY FEDERAL. 

There are often no recognized leaders of the parties in 
Congress. Bills are reported from committees made 
up of members of both parties. It often happens that 
a member cannot tell how he should vote in order to 
harmonize with his party. The great body are in doubt 
as to what should be the attitude of their party. In 
such a case Congress may adjourn in order that the 
members of each party may meet in caucus and decide 
what they will do. The meeting is held with closed 
doors, and usually all who go into caucus abide by its 
decision. The effort of the caucus is to adopt some 
line of policy in which all the party will unite. 

At the beginning of each Congress the seats are 
distributed among the members, the right of prior 
choice being determined by lot. It is customary for 
the Democrats to select the seats on the right of the 
presiding officer, and for the Republicans to occupy 
those on the left ; but there is no sharply drawn line 
of division as in the English Parliament. 



• Paet y. 

CONSTITUTIONS. 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

Constitution I>efined. — In a broad sense of the 
word, every government has a constitution ; that is, an 
understanding or customary way by which its parts 
work together. But the title usually implies also that 
the arrangement is stable, and is not dependent upon 
any one man. An absolute monarchy is called a govern- 
ment without a constitution, while a limited monarchy 
is called a government with a constitution. The Eng- 
lish monarchy has always been limited or constitutional. 
The constitution of England is the combination of cus- 
toms, laws, and understandings, in accordance with 
which the different classes enjoy their rights and privi- 
leges, and the various parts of the government are kept 
in harmonious action. In American politics the term 
is most frequently used of the written frame of govern- 
ment, either of the nation or of some state. Japan has 
recently changed from an absolute to a constitutional 
monarchy, under a written constitution. 

Constitutional Checks. — The government of the 
United States is remarkable for the number and effi- 

193 



194 CONSTITUTIONS. 

ciency of the constitutional checks upon the power of 
majorities. In case of the federal government : 1. A 
bill which has received the sanction of a majority in 
one house of Congress, but fails of the approval of the 
other house, is effectually defeated. 2. Though ap- 
proved by both houses it may be defeated by the Presi- 
dent's veto. 3. In rare instances a President, after a 
measure has been passed over his veto, has refused to 
execute it, because he believed it to be in conflict with 
the Constitution. In such a case the measure could 
have no effect until a President was elected who would 
enforce it. 4. When an act is enforced by the ex- 
ecutive, a case may be brought in the federal courts, 
and these may decide that it is unconstitutional and 
therefore void. 5. It is still possible to change the 
Constitution ; but to do this requires the approval of 
two-thirds of both houses of Congress and the sanction 
of a majority of three-fourths of the state legislatures. 
In the states the system of checks is quite similar. In 
some of them the veto power of the governor is greater, 
and in others it is less, than that of the President, and 
in still others there is no veto power. In New York it 
is greater in two respects : the governor may veto a 
part of a bill appropriating money and approve the 
rest; and he is allowed thirty days in which he may 
veto bills passed during the last ten days of the session. 
The courts of a state may rule that a law is void because 
it conflicts with either the state constitution or the 
United States Constitution ; or the federal courts may 
hold it void because in conflict with the Constitution 
of the United States. If it is the state constitution 
which stands in the way, it may be changed in most 



DESCBIPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION. 195 

states by a majority of each of the two houses of the 
legislature, the change being ratified by a majority of 
the voters of the state. Further delay is secured in 
some states by requiring the sanction of two legislatures 
before the amendment can be submitted to the people. 

Source Jbf Authority. — From the foregoing para- 
graphs it will be observed that all the various agencies 
of government are subject to the authority of the Con- 
stitution. The Supreme Court of the United States is 
the final interpreter of the Federal Constitution and of 
all state constitutions, laws, and acts which may be held 
to conflict with it. But the Constitution itself derives 
its authority from the people. 

The convention which framed the Federal Constitu- 
tion spoke in the name of the people. *The acts of the 
convention became binding when accepted and ratified 
by the people. The constitution of a state has a similar 
origin. A convention representing the people forms a 
constitution, which, when ratified by the people, goes 
into operation on the retirement of previous authorities. 
Nearly all the older states have displaced the constitu- 
tions first formed by the adoption of new ones. Some 
of the state constitutions direct the calling of a con- 
vention to revise the constitution at certain stated 
periods. The Federal Constitution requires Congress, 
on the application of two-thirds of the states, to call a 
national convention for proposing amendments to the 
Constitution, but such a convention has never been 
called. 



196 CONSTITUTIONS. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

SOME EXPLA][SrATIONS OF WKITTEK CONSTITUTIONS. 

All that has been said thus far may be* viewed as 
explanatory of the state and Federal constitutions. 
These are best understood in the light of what the vari- 
ous governmental agencies are doing. 

Frame of Government for Counties and Town- 
ships. — In the constitution of West Virginia, adopted 
in 1863, there is a complete frame of government for 
counties and townships. Under such a constitution, 
the government of the township rests upon the same 
authority as th5 general government of the state. In 
other states the constitution makes it the duty of the 
legislature to provide a frame of government for coun- 
ties and townships. If nothing is said in the constitution, 
the legislature has full power over all local municipali- 
ties. 

Org'anization of Courts. — Every state constitution 
provides for the organization of the Supreme Court, or 
a court of highest jurisdiction, and nearly all for courts 
of an inferior grade ; but there is great variety among 
the constitutions as to these regulations. Some leave 
nearly all details to the legislature; others contain a 
large body of rules for the organization of courts. The 
constitution of Iowa, adopted in 1857, provided for one 
Supreme Court and eleven district courts. The legis- 
lature was forbidden to increase the number of district 
courts more rapidly than by adding one in four years. 
The population increased so fast that in a few years it 



WRITTEN CONSTITUTIONS. 197 

• 
was impossible for the district judges to transact the 
judicial business. The legislature relieved these judges 
by requiring each judicial district to elect a " circuit 
judge," and to this court was given all probate business 
formerly in the hands of the district court, and equal 
and concurrent jurisdiction in all civil cases. Later an 
amendment was carried giving to the legislature full 
power to fix the number of the judges. 

" The Legislature shall have Power." — The state- 
ments in the Federal Constitution that Congress shall 
have power to do certain things are of the utmost im- 
portance, because the courts hold that Congress can 
exercise only such powers as are conferred by the Con- 
stitution. Such a provision in a state constitution is 
usually of no effect, unless it modifies the meaning of 
some other clause. The constitution of Texas, of 1845, 
contains the provision that the legislature shall have 
power to exempt from taxation two hundred and fifty 
dollars' worth of household goods for each family. But 
the legislature had that power without the words. If 
the Constitution should say, " The legislature shall have 
power to coin money," the words would have no force, 
because in conflict with the Federal Constitution. All 
state constitutions declare who may vote. A clause 
giving to the legislature power to change the provisions 
in certain particulars has a real value. If the Constitu- 
tion should simply say, " All male citizens over twenty- 
one years of age shall have a right to vote," and a 
statute should provide that one convicted of a certain 
crime shall not vote, the plea might be made that the 
law was in conflict with the Constitution. But there 
would be no ground for the plea if the Constitution 



198 CONSTITUTIONS. 

« 
said also that the legislature should have power to 

deprive by law of the right to vote those convicted of 
crime. In cases where the Constitution makes a par- 
tial provision, and leaves the legislature to complete or 
modify it, this may be indicated by a clause conferring 
power. Or, if the Constitution has deprived the legis- 
lature of power, it may be restored by an amendment 
bestowing the power. 

Commands upon the Ijeg'islature. — Some of the 
clauses in the constitutions, which say that the legisla- 
ture shall have power to do a certain thing, are appar- 
ently intended to indicate the duty of the legislature. 
All the state constitutions abound in commands and 
directions to the legislature. Some have classed these 
directions among the useless parts of the constitutions, 
since, it is maintained, there is no way to compel the 
legislature to act. It is true, legislators who take an 
oath to support the Constitution, often disregard some 
of its commands. Provisions which the people have 
forgotten, or care nothing for, the representatives of 
the people may disregard ; but if a number of persons 
desire the thing enjoined, the constitutional requirement 
may make it easier to induce the legislature to act. 
Some of the states, without any direction in the Consti- 
tution, have established a public school system ; but in 
a majority of cases constitutional provisions have pre- 
ceded effective legislation. It is presumable that these 
constitutional provisions have contributed much to the 
stability and success of the system. 

Prohibitions upon the Leg^islature. — The Federal 
Constitution contains several definite restrictions upon 
Congress, and a few upon the legislatures of the states. 



WBITTEN CONSTITUTIONS. 199 

while the various state constitutions have many addi- 
tional prohibitions upon the state legislatures. The 
courts have uniformly ruled that an act of the legisla- 
ture in violation of a constitutional prohibition is void. 
Besides Art. I. Sec. IX. of the Federal Constitution, 
Avhich contains formal restrictions upon Congress, and 
Sec. X. of the same article, which restricts the states, 
the first ten amendments still farther limit the action of 
Congress, while the bills of rights in the state constitu- 
tions restrict the action of the state legislatures. 

The United States Constitution as affecting States. 
— Some of the prohibitions upon the action of states 
found in Sec. X. of Art. I. are repeated in the state con- 
stitutions. The state legislature is forbidden by both 
constitutions to pass an ex post facto law. Such a 
provision in a state constitution is not without use. 
The state courts are usually the first to interpret a state 
law; and the prohibition in the state constitution ren- 
ders it less likely that the provision in the Federal 
Constitution will be drawn into controversy, and thus 
lead to an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court. 

Many of the restrictions in the Federal Constitution 
which are popularly understood to bind the action of 
states do not have that effect. The first amendment 
declares that '' Congress shall make no law " of either 
of certain specified classes. The next nine amendments, 
which were adopted with it, should all be understood 
as binding upon Congress and the federal government 
alone, and not as restricting the action of states. Sim- 
ilar provisions are found in state constitutions ; and 
these alone limit the state. The fifth amendment says 
that no person shall be held to answer for a capital 



200 CONSTITUTIONS. 

or otherwise infamous crime, unless on presentment or 
indictment of a grand jury. As interpreted by the 
courts, this does not restrict the action of states. A 
state may abolish the grand jury, and some of them 
have done so. Congress cannot abolish the grand jury 
without a previous change in the Constitution. The 
same reasoning holds in respect to the trial jury. The 
states have full power to abolish it so far as the Federal 
Constitution is concerned. The Constitution restricts 
federal officers in the matter of excessive bail and the 
infliction of cruel and unusual punishments. If the 
people of a state desire a like restriction on state officers, 
it should be inserted in the state constitution. 

Restrictions upon the Executive and the Judi- 
ciary. — Commands or prohibitions in a constitution 
usually affect more directly the legislature, yet many 
of them bind also the executive and the judiciary. The 
executive as well as the legislature may be tempted to 
take private property for public use without just com- 
pensation. The constitutional provision that the privi- 
lege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
affects especially the judiciary. It guarantees the right 
of the United States courts to bring before them any 
person deprived of liberty, and claiming that his con- 
finement is unlawful. The issuing of the writ by state 
courts is guaranteed by state constitutions. Federal 
courts are accustomed to grant the writ of habeas cor- 
pus to one who is in prison under state authority, in 
violation of some federal law, or treaty, or right of 
the Federal Constitution. Federal prisoners have also 
been released by state judges. 



CONSTITUTIONS AND ORDINARY LAW. 201 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

CONSTITUTIONS AND ORDINARY LAW. 

The Federal Constitution. — There is little diffi- 
culty in distinguishing the provisions of the Federal 
Constitution from ordinary statutes. They are funda- 
mental. A frame of government is provided, and the 
powers and duties of the officers are defined. The 
details of legislation are committed to Congress. The 
provision about fugitive slaves, that a person held to 
service or labor in one state, escaping into another 
" shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom 
such service or labor may be due,"^ is the nearest ap- 
proach to an ordinary statute. On its authority a court 
might issue a warrant to take an alleged fugitive, and, 
on proof of ownership, might deliver him into the 
hands of his master. A brief statute intended to give 
fuller effect to this provision was passed by Congress 
in Washington's administration, and a very stringent 
fugitive slave law w^as passed in 1850. 

In the States. — It is much more difficult to distin- 
guish between what should be statute and what should 
be constitution in the states. The fundamental law pro- 
vides for officers to carry on the government; it com- 
mands them to do certain things ; it may confer powers 
upon them ; it may forbid them to do certain things ; it 
makes known the methods by which the people wish to be 
governed. When the constitution goes farther than this 
and introduces provisions to control the dealings of citi- 
zens with each other, it passes from matters fundamental 
1 Art. lY. sec. 2, cl. 3. 



202 CONSTITUTIONS. 

and enters the field of ordinary statute. It is easy to draw 
this distinction in theory, but it is difficult to hold to it 
in practice. 

Some of the first constitutional conventions acted 
in the double capacity of legislatures and conventions ; 
they adopted ordinances or laws for the government of 
the people, and they put into the constitution many pro- 
visions which are not fundamental. In the constitution 
of Pennsylvania, adopted in 1776, there is the statement 
that houses ought to be provided for punishing by hard 
labor those who shall be convicted of crimes not capital. 
''And all persons at proper time shall be permitted 
to see the prisoners at their labor." In the same con- 
nection, there is a clause " that the inhabitants of this 
state shall have liberty to fowl and hunt in seasonable 
times on the lands they hold, and all other lands therein 
not enclosed." The example set by the first conven- 
tions has been followed ever since. In almost any state 
constitution may be found provisions which are scarcely 
to be distinguished from ordinary laws. 

Illinois. — The constitution of Illinois, adopted in 
1870, provides for the control of banks, railroads, and 
warehouses. Some of its provisions take the form of 
directions to the legislature or restrictions upon it, 
which indicate that they are a part of the funda- 
mental law ; others have the form of ordinary statutes. 
Stockholders in a bank are made personally responsible 
for its debts. Banks are forbidden to suspend specie 
payments. Railroad corporations are required to main- 
tain in the state a public office in which shall be kept 
records of the ownership and transfer of all the stock of 
the corporation. The rolling stock and all movables of 



CONSTITUTIONS AND ORDINARY LAW. 203 

the railroad are declared to be personal property, and 
liable to seizure for debt. The owners of warehouses 
in cities of one hundred thousand inhabitants or more 
are required to make a weekly statement of the contents, 
and to keep a copy of the statement posted in the Avare- 
house on which shall be noted daily the changes made 
in the stores ; and any owner of property stored shall 
have access to all the books and records of the ware- 
house in regard to such property. Similar provisions 
are found in the statutes of other states instead of in 
their constitutions. 

Railroads and State Constitutions. — In about half 
of the state constitutions there is some regulation con- 
cerning railroads. These provisions may be classified as 
follows: 1. Powers are conferred upon the legislature 
to fix rates, to establish maximum charges, and to pre- 
vent combinations. 2. Restrictions are placed upon the 
legislature. The most common of these forbids the state 
to loan money to a railroad corporation, and in many 
states this prohibition is extended to counties and other 
municipalities. 3. The legislature is instructed^ directed^ 
or commanded to make laws for the control of railroads, 
as, for instance, to establish maximum charges or to 
prevent combinations. 4. Other provisions have the 
form of statutes. Examples have been instanced in the 
case of Illinois. Railroad companies are sometimes for- 
bidden to " water " their stock, or to increase it without 
a public notice of sixty days ; or the different companies 
are required to connect their tracks and transfer goods 
and cars. 

Now, what is the position of those states in which the 
constitutions say nothing on the subject of railroads ? 



204 CONSTITUTIONS. 

1. They have all the power to control railroads possessed 
by any state. The words in a state constitution " the 
legislature shall have power " do not convey any power. 
Some of the states in which the constitution is silent 
have gone farthest and been most effective in legis- 
lative control of railroads. 2. Every restriction removes 
power from the legislature. If the constitution says 
that money shall not be loaned to a corporation, the 
courts would refuse to give effect to any act in viola- 
tion of the restriction. In the absence of such a pro- 
vision, a legislature has power to invest money in rail- 
roads, and yet can prevent a county or any municipality 
from doing the same. 3. When a constitution com- 
mands the legislature to make certain laws to control 
railroads, a legislator is by his oath under moral obliga- 
tion to obey ; and his constituents may appeal to him on 
this ground. Yet it is possible that all the members 
may act in good faith and still fail to pass the laws 
because of inability to agree. In the states having no 
such directions in their constitution the citizens appeal 
directly to the legislature for what they want. 4. A pro- 
vision having the form of a statute inserted in the con- 
stitution may indirectly serve to limit the legislature. 
Additional laws must be in harmony with the constitu- 
tion, else the courts will nullify them. If the constitution 
forbids combinations, or pools, the legislature cannot pass 
a law regulating pools. Where there are no such pro- 
visions, the legislature has a clear field, and may make, 
amend, or repeal laws, as seems best at the time. 

From these observations, it appears that the one class 
of provisions in the fundamental law which is especially 
effective is that which deprives the legislature of power. 



CONSTITUTIONS AND OBDINARY LAW, 205 

If the people wish to keep the legislature or the muni- 
cipalities of the state from investing money in railroads, 
they can effectually deprive them of this power by a 
clause in the constitution. 

Lotteries. — It was customary a hundred years ago for 
governments to license lotteries for public or charitable 
purposes. During the present century there has been a 
growing sentiment against lotteries, which has found 
expression in three-fourths of our constitutions. The 
first state to act in this direction was Tennessee. A 
clause inserted in the Constitution of 1834 reads, '' The 
legislature shall have no power to authorize lotteries 
for any purpose, and shall pass laws to prohibit the 
sale of lottery tickets in this state." This clause con- 
tains both a restriction and a command upon the legis- 
lature. This form is followed in many constitutions. 
In other states, instead of directing the legislature, the 
constitution itself prohibits the sale of lottery tickets. 
In some, the lotteries already authorized are permitted 
to be closed out; but the constitution of Missouri, of 
1865, says, " Lotteries already authorized shall not be 
drawn." Louisiana is the only state which continues 
to authorize lotteries. 

Duelling. — As explained in a former chapter, the 
practice of settling disputes between citizens by battle, 
or duel, was not only permitted, but was required by 
the Norman customs and laws. The duel long con- 
tinued to be the legal and customary means of settling 
disputes affecting the honor or the character of men and 
women. The first state constitutions say nothing about 
duelling; for although without the sanction of law, 
yet the practice was not uncommon, and there was no 



206 CONSTITUTIONS. 

strong public sentiment against it. The growth of a 
hostile sentiment received constitutional notice first in 
the state of Mississippi, in 1817, in the following words, 
" The General Assembly shall have power to pass such 
penal laws to suppress the evil practice of duelling, ex- 
tending to the disqualification from office or the tenure 
thereof, as they may deem expedient." Twenty-seven 
states have followed the example of Mississippi, in 
placing in the constitution some provision against duel- 
ling. These take one of the following forms : 1. The 
legislature is empowered to prohibit duelling. 2. It is 
commanded or directed to prohibit duelling. 3. The 
constitution itself prohibits duelling, and in several 
states deprives those having a part in a duel of the 
right to vote or hold office in the state. The constitu- 
tion of Texas, ratified in 1868 and in 1876, requires all 
officers to take an oath that they have had no share 
either as principal or second in the fighting of a duel 
with deadly weapons. 

Such provisions are most numerous in the constitu- 
tions of that part of the country where duelling has been 
most prevalent. There are laws in the other states also, 
defining and punishing the crime. 

Bribery and Betting at Elections. — Nearly every 
state constitution contains some provision respecting 
bribery. Some of them empower the legislature to de- 
prive a citizen who has been convicted of bribery of 
the right to vote. This is a case where a grant of power 
removes a restriction. The constitution itself determines 
in the first place who shall vote. Without its express 
authority the legislature would have no power to deprive 
a citizen of the right to vote. The constitution recog- 



CONSTITUTIONS AND ORDINARY LAW. 207 

nizes two classes of bribery cases: 1. The bestowing 
of gifts to influence voters at elections. 2. The bestow- 
ing of gifts to influence the official acts of legislative, 
executive, or judicial officers. In successful bribery 
there are two offenders, the one who gives and the one 
who receives the bribe. When a bribe is offered and 
refused, there is only one criminal. Some of the consti- 
tutions require the members of the legislature to bind 
themselves by oath or affirmation not to accept bribes. 
In Tennessee, any person convicted of giving or offering 
a bribe, to influence a voter to elect him to an office, 
is for six years thereafter disqualified from holding the 
office. In New York and a few other states, the legis- 
lature is empowered to deprive a voter of the right to 
vote at an election on whose issues he has offered a bet, 
or wager. 

Slavery and the State Constitutions. — Slavery 
existed in every state of the original thirteen when the 
first constitutions were framed. The early constitutions 
are generally without definite provisions on the subject 
of slavery. The Virginia constitution, 1776, accuses 
King George III. of prompting the negroes to rise in 
arms. " Those very negroes whom, by an inhuman use 
of his negative [veto], he had refused us permission 
to exclude by law." In the same year the South Caro- 
lina constitution accuses the royal governor of freeing 
slaves and arming them against their masters. The 
Vermont constitution, of 1777, says that no male person 
after the age of twenty-one, or female after the age of 
eighteen, ought to be held as a slave. The Tennessee 
constitution, of 1796, provides that a slave shall not be 
taxed higher than two hundred acres of land. No con- 



208 CONSTITUTIONS. 

stitution has ever in express terms provided for the 
establishment, introduction, or maintenance of slavery. 
Massachusetts was the first of the thirteen states to 
abolish slavery ; yet in its constitution there is no men- 
tion of slavery. 

The famous constitution of Missouri, which was sub- 
mitted to Congress for approval in 1820, the discussion 
of which led to the Missouri Compromise, had in it: 1. 
An article forbidding the legislature to emancipate slaves 
without the consent of the owner, and without full 
compensation, or to prohibit actual settlers from bring- 
ing their slaves into the state. 2. The legislature was 
empowered to prohibit the bringing in of slaves of crim- 
inal character, and slaves who had been imported in 
violation of laws of the United States. 3. It was made 
the duty of the legislature to exclude free negroes, and 
to require the humane treatment of slaves. 

After the agitation for the overthrow of slavery began, 
constitutional provisions for its defence appeared in some 
of the slave states. The constitution of Virginia, in 
1850, required that emancipated slaves should be re- 
enslaved if they did not leave the state within one year 
after emancipation. Power was granted to the legisla- 
ture to forbid the emancipation of slaves by their owners, 
and to make laws for ridding the state of free negroes. 

After the Civil War, clauses were inserted in the con- 
stitutions of all the former slave states declaring that 
slavery should not exist in the state. 

Intoxicating Liquors. — The early constitutions say 
nothing concerning the sale of intoxicating liquors. In 
the years 1850 and 1851, Michigan and Ohio inserted 
clauses in their constitutions depriving the legislatures 



CON&TITUTIONS AND ORDINARY LAW. 209 

of the power to license the sale of intoxicating liquors. 
It was expected that these provisions would be followed 
by laws prohibiting the traffic. Such laws, however, were 
not made ; and the constitutional restriction upon the leg- 
islature made it difficult to limit the traffic in any way. 
Laws passed to limit the traffic by taxation were declared 
by the courts to be in conflict with the constitution. 
Thus the act, which was carried in the interest of restric- 
tion, had the opposite effect in practice. Michigan, in 
1876, removed the restriction upon the legislature. 

Prohibitory Amendments. — Several states have in 
recent years adopted amendments to their constitutions 
prohibiting in express terms the manufacture and sale of 
intoxicating drinks, and making it the duty of their legis- 
latures to pass laws to render the provisions effective. In 
the state of Rhode Island an amendment was carried; but 
the legislature and executive failed to give due support 
to the measure, and after two years the people reversed 
their action, and the amendment was revoked. The state 
of Maine, after maintaining prohibition by statute for 
more than thirty years, inserted a prohibitory amend- 
ment in the constitution. The constitution of Texas, in 
1876, made it the duty of the legislature to provide for 
voting by counties, towns, and cities, from time to time, 
on the question of prohibiting the liquor traffic in the 
locality. In 1882 a prohibitory amendment was sub- 
mitted to the voters of Iowa, and had a majority of 
the votes in its favor. Immediately a case was brought 
in the courts, to test the validity of the amendment. The 
Supreme Court ruled that the amendment was void and 
of no force, because there had been departures from the 
provisions of the constitution, in the method of its adop- 



210 CONSTITUTIONS. 

tion. The legislature, after this decision, passed a strin- 
gent prohibitory law. The same court ruled that this 
law is constitutional, and has given effect to its most 
stringent features. 

Other Statutory Provisions. — The constitutions of 
Michigan and some other states secure to the wife, as 
against the debts of her husband, the possession of all 
the property which she had before marriage, and all she 
may receive by gift or inheritance after marriage. In 
other states the rights of the wife to property are regu- 
lated by statute. In some of the mining states are found 
rules for the owning and operating of mines. The con- 
stitution of Oregon, of 1857, forbids a Chinaman to own 
or work a mining claim. The constitution of Colorado 
contains clauses regulating the appropriation and use 
of the water of the state. 

No single state constitution contains a large body of 
statutes ; yet, by taking all the constitutions, a quantity 
of minute legislation may be collected, showing that 
the line between fundamental law and ordinary law has 
not been carefully observed. 

The statutory clauses do not usually have the full 
form of statutes, but require an act of the legislature to 
make them complete. Often, when an act is forbidden, 
the legislature is directed to pass laws affixing appropri- 
ate penalties. The constitution of Maryland, of 1864, 
contains the following; "Any person who shall, after 
this constitution shall have gone into effect, detain in 
slavery any person emancipated by the provisions of 
this constitution, shall, on conviction, be fined not less 
than five hundred dollars nor more than five thousand 
dollars, or be imprisoned not more than five years ; and 



EXPLANATION OF SPECIAL PASSAGES. 211 

any of the judges of this state shall discharge on habeas 
corpus any person so detained in slavery." This, it 
will be observed, is a full and complete statute, and 
requires no act of the legislature to provide for its 
enforcement. 

Special lieg-islation. — While Congress can legislate 
on comparatively few subjects, there are many within 
the power of a state legislature. Bills have come be- 
fore the legislatures in such numbers that they have 
been passed into laws without receiving due attention. 
Many abuses have been removed, and the work of legis- 
lation has been much simplified, by forbidding the legis- 
lature to pass special laws on certain subjects. The 
constitution of Illinois, of 1870, forbids special laws on 
twenty-three subjects, among which are : the granting 
of divorces, the changing of the names of persons or 
places, the incorporation of towns and cities, and chang- 
ing the charters of cities. The legislature cannot change 
the name of a man by special bill, but may pass a law 
in accordance with which names may be changed. 



CHAPTER XXXVIIT. 

EXPLANATION OF SPECIAL PASSAGES. 

The greater part of the Constitution of the United 
States may be read and understood without note or 
comment. Many parts have been explained in describ- 
ing the institutions for which it gives directions. A 
few of the clauses not explained in former chapters will 
here be noticed. 



212 CONSTITUTIONS. 

The double negative appears a good many times, 
giving obscurity to the sentence, especially if it be long 
and complex. Art. I., Sec. II., clause 1, means that no 
person shall represent a state in which he does not live. 

Slavery. — The Constitution did not contain the, 
word '^ slave " or '' slavery " till the adoption of the 
thirteenth amendment, but there are three passages in 
which slaves are meant. The '' Three-fifths of all other 
persons," Art. I., Sec. II., clause 3, means three-fifths 
of the slaves. In determining the basis for representa- 
tion, all free persons of all colors were counted except 
Indians who were not taxed. Prisoners were counted 
as freemen. '' All other persons " were the slaves, from 
whose number two-fifths were deducted, and the remain- 
der was added to the number of freemen. In Sec. IX. 
of the same article. Congress is forbidden to prohibit 
the importation of slaves before 1808, but is permitted 
to collect a tax of ten dollars upon each slave imported. 
Instead of saying ''slaves," the words are, "such per- 
sons as any of the states now existing shall think proper 
to admit." The third reference to slaves is the clause 
which requires the surrender of the fugitive slaves 
escaping from olie state into another. The words by 
which slaves are here alluded to are, '' No person held 
to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof." 
John Quincy Adams called these passages the "fig- 
leaves of the Constitution." Its makers felt a measure 
of shame for the existence of slavery, and disguised a^ 
far as possible the references to it. 

Three Classes of Senators. — The first Senate was 
composed of twenty members. As directed in Sec. III., 
these senators divided themselves into three classes: 



EXPLANATION OF SPECIAL PASSAGES. 213 

seven of them served two years, seven served four 
years, and six of them served six years. The senatorial 
terms for the first class run from 1789, 1791, 1797, 
1808, 1809, and so on, by periods of six years perpetu- 
ally. The terms of the second class run from 1789 to 
1793, 1799, 1805, etc. The third class goes by six-year 
periods from 1789. When two senators were admitted 
from New York, one was put in the first class and one 
in the third. When two senators appeared from North 
Carolina the first class already contained eight mem- 
bers, and the other two seven each. The Constitution 
therefore required that one of these should be placed in 
the second class, that is, the class whose full six-year 
terms date from 1793 ; and the other in the third class 
whose six-year terms date from 1789. The three classes 
then contained eight members each. When the two 
senators from Rhode Island entered the Senate, two of 
the classes were increased to nine each. In this way 
the three classes have been kept as nearly equal as pos- 
sible. The first senators from a new state are always 
put into different classes, so that one or both will have 
for the first time a term of less than six years. By this 
arrangement one-third of the senators is chosen every 
two years. 

Electors. — One meaning of the word elector is now 
more commonly expressed by the word voter. It has 
this sense in Art. I., Sec. 11. The clause means that 
all who have a right to vote for members of the most 
numerous branch of the state legislature shall have 
a right to vote for representatives to Congress. When 
the Constitution was framed, several of the states re- 
quired a voter to own property, and a few of them 



214 COJSfSTITUTIONS. 

required more property to entitle one to vote for a state 
senator than for a member of the more numerous branch 
of the legislature. In Art. II., and in the twelfth 
amendment, the word elector has a special meaning. 
It is applied to those who are chosen to cast the vote of 
the state for President and Vice-President. 

Yeas and :N'ays. — The method of voting usually 
followed in Congress is by voice, and the presiding offi- 
cer decides the vote by the sound. In cases of doubt, 
the members may be requested to stand and be counted. 
If members are not satisfied, they may call for the ^eas 
and nays. This method requires a roll-call of all the 
members. Those voting to sustain the motion answer 
"yea" or aye; and those voting against the motion 
answer '' nay " or no. The answers are all entered upon 
the journal, and the vote of each is thus made a matter of 
public record. The Constitution, Art. I., Sec. V., makes 
it possible for one-fifth of the members present to com- 
pel the yeas and nays to be taken upon any question. 
This is a check upon injurious legislation. A member 
might secretly vote for a bad bill, who would be deterred 
if his vote is to be a matter of record. Some of the 
state constitutions guard still farther against bad legis- 
lation, by authorizing each member to protest against a 
measure and have his objections entered upon the jour- 
nal. This precludes other members from pleading 
ignorance in supporting a corrupt measure. 

Vacancies. — A vacancy in the Senate is filled by the 
legislature of the state electing a new senator for the 
unexpired term. If the legislature is not in session, 
the governor of the state appoints a senator to fill the 
office till the legislature convenes. A vacancy in the 



EXPLANATION OF SPECIAL PASSAGES. 215 

House is filled by an election in the district which is left 
without a member. The governor of the state issues writs * 
for an election to fill the vacancy, often appointing it on 
the day of some other election in the district. 

Compensation of Officers. — The members of Con- 
gress fix their own salaries by law.^ Senators and repre- 
sentatives have received the same compensation except 
during one year, 1795, when the senators received a 
dollar a day more. The salary was fixed in 1789 at $6 
a day while in session, in 1815 at $1,500 a year, in 1817 
at 18 a day, in 1855 at $3,000 a year. In 1865 it was 
changed to $5,000, and has remained at that rate ever 
since except from 1871 to 1874, when it was $7,500. 
The law changing the salary from $5,000 to $7,500 was 
passed March 3, 1873, and was made to apply from 
March 4, 1871, thus giving the members two years of 
back pay. This caused a great outcry against the law, 
and led to its repeal by the next Congress. In every 
case where the pay of members has been increased it has 
been made to apply at a date earlier than the passage of 
the bill. The Constitution in express terms makes it 
impossible to either increase or diminish the compensa- 
tion of the President during his term of office.^ Presi- 
dent Grant during his first term received a salary of 
$25,000 a year, and during the second term it was 
$50,000. The increase was at the beginning of the 
second term. Congress is permitted by the Constitution 
to increase the salary of a judge in the federal courts 
during his term of office, but not to decrease it.^ 

Privileges of Congressmen. — The Constitution ex- 
empts Congressmen from liability to arrest except for 
1 Art. I. sec. 6, cL 1. 2 Art. II. sec. 1, cl. 7. 3 Art. III. sec. 1. 



216 CONSTITUTIONS, 

treason, felony, and breach of the peace, during their at- 
tendance at the sessions, or while going to and return- 
ing from the same.^ The object of this provision is to 
prevent attempts to control legislative action by keep- 
ing members away. Members are also privileged from 
being punished out of the houses of Congress for any- 
thing said in the house. This is to secure to them entire 
freedom of discussion. Each house may punish its own 
members for misconduct in speech or act. 

Civil Officers of the United States. — The phrase 
civil officers in one clause of the Constitution has given 
rise to the question whether Congressmen are civil 
officers. Sec. VI., Art. L, says, " No senator or rep- 
resentative shall, during the term for which he was 
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the United 
States, which shall have been created, or the emolu- 
ments whereof shall have been increased, during such 
term." Here '' civil office " seems to mean an office not 
military which Congress has the power to create. If 
Congress attaches an increased salary to a civil office, no 
member of that Congress can be appointed to it before his 
term of office has expired. He can take a military office 
which has been thus created, but only on condition of 
ceasing to be a member of Congress ; for the same clause 
forbids a member of Congress to hold any office under 
the United States. Sec. III., Art. II. says the Presi- 
dent "shall commission all the officers of the United 
States." The President does not commission Congress- 
men; hence some have concluded that a Congressman 
is not an officer of the United States in the meaning 
of the Ccnstitution. 

1 Art. I. sec. 6, cl. 1, 



EXPLANATION OF SPECIAL PASSAGES. 217 

Are Congressmen Liable to Impeachment ? — Sec. 
VI., Art. II., says, " The President, Vice-President, and 
all civil officers of the United States shall be removed 
from office on impeachment for and conviction of trea- 
son, bribery, or other high crime or misdemeanor." 
If, therefore. Congressmen are civil officers, they are 
liable to impeachment. As stated in a former chapter, 
when a senator was impeached by the house, some of 
the senators took the view that a member of Con- 
gress was not subject to impeachment. The power of 
each house to discipline its own members extends to 
their expulsion. The only additional punishment pos- 
sible in case of impeachment is to disqualify for holding 
any federal office. 

Letters of Marque and Reprisal. — A letter of 
marque and reprisal is a document authorizing a private 
individual to go beyond the marque, or boundary, of his 
country and make reprisals, that is, seize and bring 
away the ships or other goods belonging to subjects 
of another nation. A private ship sailing with such 
authority is called a privateer. While Andrew Jack- 
son was President, France agreed by treaty to pay 
about $5,000,000 for the settlement of dues to citizens of 
the United States. The French government neglected 
to fulfil the contract, and President Jackson proposed to 
Congress to authorize letters of marque and reprisal, to 
compel its settlement. If reprisals had been attempted, 
war would naturally have ensued. The authority was 
not granted and the money was soon after paid. Con- 
gress authorized letters of marque during the Civil War 
but none were issued. The Alabama was a privateer 
authorized by the Confederate government. 



218 CONSTITUTIONS. 

Bills of Attainder and Ex post facto Laws. — Two 

phrases are found together m the Federal Constitution, 
and they are repeated in many of the state constitutions. 
An ex post facto law is one which works to the disadvan- 
tage of a subject on account of some act committed be- 
fore the law was passed. If the legislature increases the 
penalty of a crime, the increase cannot be applied to a 
crime already committed. If the penalty is diminished, 
the benefit may be applied to previous cases. Ux post 
facto legislation, as the courts interpret the phrase, is 
limited to laws affecting the citizen to his disadvantage. 
The prohibition of this sort of legislation has had impor- 
tant results over the action of legislatures and courts. 

No evidence is given that the prohibition of bills of 
attainder has ever influenced the act of any officer. 
This expression was put into our constitutions because 
the English Parliament had passed bills of attainder. 
Such a bill was an act of Parliament, voted upon like 
any other law. It named a person, and declared him 
guilty of treason or some other crime. If it were passed 
by a majority of the houses, the person attainted was 
usually executed, his property was confiscated, and his 
family was degraded and deprived of civil rights. In 
some instances such bills were carried through Parlia- 
ment without permitting any defence of the accused, or 
any evidence in his favor. In such a proceeding Parlia- 
ment combined legislative, judicial, and executive func- 
tions. The separation of the other departments of gov- 
ernment from the legislature naturally takes out of its 
hands such unlimited power. In the English constitu- 
tion the bill of attainder has fallen out of use. Attainder 
in Art. III., Sec. III., means simply conviction. 



EXPLANATION OF SPECIAL PASSAGES. 219 

Corruption of Blood. — According to the common 
law of England, conviction for treason caused the degra- 
dation of the family of the convict, and the forfeiture of 
all property, and of the right to own and inherit prop- 
erty. This is called corruption of bloody and is forbidden 
in our Constitution.^ 

The United States a Nation. — The few passages in 
the Constitution which show whether the term United 
States was a singular or a plural noun, as viewed by the 
makers of the Constitution, all mark it as plural. "Trea- 
son against the United States shall consist in levying war 
against them^ or in adhering to their enemies." ^ " The judi- 
cial power shall extend to all cases arising under this Con- 
stitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made 
under their authority." ^ Modern usage would substitute 
the singular for the plural pronouns. We are accustomed 
to assert that the United States is a nation. In form 
the term remains plural ; in grammatical use it is now 
treated as singular. The prevalence of the new usage is 
vastly more than a mere change of grammar. From the 
beginning there were two radically different views of 
the nature of the Union. One class of statesmen gave 
chief emphasis to states. According to their view, the 
Union was composed of sovereign states. The federal 
government was a mere agency of the states. The con- 
tinuance of the Union depended upon the will of the 
several states. The plural expression meant, to these 
statesmen, plural sovereignties. The statesmen of the 
opposite school emphasized the idea of Union. Accord- 
ing to their view, the Union rested not upon states, as 
such, but upon the people of all the states. The federal 

1 Art. III. sec. 3, cl. 2. ^ Art. III. sec. 3, cl. 1. ^ Art. III. sec. 2, cl. 1. 



220 CONSTITUTIONS. 

government was not an agency of states, but was a 
government of supreme authority over all matters com- 
mitted to it. All the people and all the states alike were 
subject to the perpetual authority of the federal govern- 
ment. Federal officers alone had a right to determine 
what were the limits of federal authority. To these 
statesmen the plural term meant a single thing, namely, 
the Union, or the federal government. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

THE SILENCES OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 

It is important that the text of the Constitution should 
be well understood. A knowledge of the text is vastly 
more important than a knowledge of what has been said 
about it. The court of final appeal bases its decisions 
upon what the Constitution says, rather than upon the 
opinions of those who have explained the Constitution. 
The only form of commentary which approaches in 
importance the text of the Constitution, is found in a 
statement of the things which have been done in its 
name and under its authority. 

Yet one may have a thorough knowledge of the text 
of the Constitution, and may understand perfectly every 
word, phrase, and sentence, and the historical incidents 
which led to their use, and still have little knowledge of 
the government. The wisdom of those who framed the 
Constitution is seen as much in the things which they 
left out as in what they put in. The relation of states 
to the federal government is the point which has been 



SILENCES OF THE FEDEBAL CONSTITUTION. 221 

the source of a large proportion of our difficulties. This 
relation was made very clear in a few essential features, 
and left remarkably indefinite in a multitude of details. 
The Articles of Confederation said that every power not 
expressly delegated to the United States was retained 
by the states. In the Constitution, as first framed, noth- 
ing is said on the subject of retaining power by states. 
In the tenth amendment, where a similar idea is stated, j 
the word expressly is omitted. No words in the docu- j 
ment indicate in express terms whether the grant of 
powers is to be interpreted strictly or liberally. Prob- 
lems, the clear solution of which is beyond the wit of 
man to determine in advance, are left to be settled by 
experience, as the occasions arise. 

The Articles of Confederation required ratification by 
all the states before they should go into effect. The 
Constitution was to go into effect when nine states 
should ratify. Nothing is said as to what would be done 
with the four states which might not ratify. Happily this 
question can never be answered. The believer in high 
national power may think, if he choose, that had four 
of the most powerful states refused to enter the Union, 
the Union would have made war upon them and com- 
pelled them to enter it. On the other hand, the believer 
in the sovereignty of the states may think that if the 
feeblest of the thirteen states had refused to ratify, the 
Union would forever have respected its sovereign rights. 
Between these extreme views there is room for many 
grades of opinion. Those who appreciate the difficulty 
to be overcome will approve of the silence of the Con- 
stitution on this point. 

After a state has entered the Union, there is nothing 



222 CONSTITUTIONS, 

in the Constitution which expressly states whether it 
has a right to withdraw. And even now, after a civil 
war in which that question was involved, the Constitu- 
tion is still silent. The eleven seceding states were 
required, as a condition of being readmitted, to put into 
their constitutions an explicit denial of the right of 
secession, but nothing of the sort has been placed in the 
Federal Constitution. The Union will not be divided 
simply because men differ about the constitutional right 
of a state to secede. If other causes should threaten the 
integrity of the Union, it may well be doubted whether 
a clause denying the right of division would give it 
strength. 



CHAPTER XL. 

FEDERAL AND STATE POWERS. 

The parts of the Constitution which require special 
attention are those which have been used to determine 
the relation of the states to the federal government, and 
the relation of the states to each other. These are 
the clauses conferring powers upon Congress, denying 
powers to Congress, denying powers to states, and a few 
clauses in the fourth and sixth articles, which relate to 
states and to the supremacy of the federal government. 

Powers Expressly Conferred. — Art. I., Sec. VIIL, 
enumerates the powers of Congress. The conferring 
of a power upon Congress does not necessarily take 
it from the state. General power of taxation is conferred 
by the first clause. The states likewise have the powers 
of taxation, except as limited by a prohibition in Sec. X. 



FEDERAL AND STATE POWEBS. 223 

In clause 2, Congress is granted power to borrow money ; 
the states, so far as the Federal Constitution is con- 
cerned, have also full power to borrow money. 

To Regulate Commerce. — Clause 3, conferring 
power upon Congress to regulate commerce with foreign 
nations, and among the states, and with the Indian 
tribes, has been held to designate powers exclusively 
federal. The state regulates trade within its own bor- 
ders. It may do nothing to limit, restrict, or regulate 
trade with a foreign nation. The federal government 
may regulate foreign commerce by acts of Congress, 
and also by treaties which are made by the President 
and the Senate. A large part of federal legislation has 
reference to foreign commerce and the agencies of com- 
merce. Extreme use of this power was made in Jeffer- 
son's administration, when Congress for several months 
maintained an Embargo Act, which cut off all trade 
with foreign nations through the agency of American 
ships, and then for a time a Non-Intercourse Act, which 
cut off all trade with France and England. The citizens 
whose business was thus injured claimed that these acts 
were unconstitutional, on the ground that the power to 
regulate did not extend to the power to destroy. 

The Constitution itself secures freedom of commerce 
between the states. Congress is denied the power to 
collect a tax on goods exported from a state. Congress 
is also forbidden to charge greater duties in one state 
than in another, and vessels are allowed to sail directly 
to and from all the ports of the Union. The states 
are likewise forbidden to collect duties on imports or 
exports, " except what may be absolutely necessary for 
executing inspection laws." These passages show the 



224 CONSTITUTIONS, 

intention to secure freedom of commerce between the 
states. Yet many difficult constitutional questions have 
arisen in the application of these provisions. 

The states have a right to inspect goods brought 
within their limits, in order to protect their citizens from 
fraud or injury. Some of the states maintain a commis- 
sion to inspect illuminating oils. Oils of a specially 
dangerous character are prohibited from the market. 
The expense of such a commission may be met by col- 
lecting a fee from the importers of the oil. The states 
have laws punishing those Avho bring in diseased animals. 
Instances have occurred where a state has forbidden 
the introduction of all cattle from the locality of a con- 
tagious disease, or certain breeds specially liable to 
spread disease. These provisions interfere with com- 
merce between the states ; but they are sustained by the 
courts, if the manifest intention is to protect the citizens 
from injury. It is an exercise of police power belong- 
ing to the state. 

The state of Minnesota passed a law requiring all 
fresh meat offered in the market to be inspected on foot, 
within the state, within twenty-four hours of the time 
of slaughter. The courts ruled this law unconstitu- 
tional, because it was believed to be intended not to 
protect the citizens from diseased meat, but to favor a 
local industry. States are accustomed to collect license 
fees and taxes on trades and occupations. The courts 
sustain these acts unless a discrimination is made against 
citizens of other states. A laAV of Missouri, requiring 
dealers in wool not produced in the state to pay a license 
fee, was ruled unconstitutional, because it was virtually 
a duty upon imported wool. Had the law applied to 



FEDERAL AND STATE POWERS. 225 

all who sold wool, it would have been sustained. For 
similar reasons, a law of Michigan was held to be void 
which required travelling agents of such breweries only 
as were outside of the state to pay a license fee. The 
state of Maryland passed a law, imposing license fees on 
all importers of foreign goods, and all who sold such 
goods in original packages. The courts held the law to 
be void, because it had the effect of a duty on imports. 

The Liquor Traffic. — Many difficult questions have 
arisen in states prohibiting the liquor traffic. The courts 
sustain the states in the exercise of the right to prohibit 
the manufacture and sale of intoxicating beverages ; but 
in all cases the sale of liquors is permitted for other pur- 
poses. Questions then arise as to the liability of express 
companies, railroad companies, and dealers in original 
packages. 1. A state law forbidding railways and other 
common carriers to carry in liquors is held to be un- 
constitutional. These are permitted, or even required 
to convey the goods to the importer, although the state 
law may forbid it. 2. According to a recent decision of 
the Supreme Court of the United States, an importer 
of liquors from another state is permitted to sell them 
in the original packages in which they are imported, 
even though the state law may forbid such sale- This 
decision seemed to have the effect to destroy, in large 
part, the power of the state to control the liquor 
traffic. Congress then passed a law whose object was 
to secure to the states full control over the sale of 
imported liquors. 

Indian Trade. — When Indians break up their tribal 
relation, they cease to be under special federal control, 
and become subject to the local state or territorial gov- 



226 CONSTITUTIONS. 

ernment. The federal government has exercised pecu- 
liar control over Indians living in tribes, and during 
their transition to ordinary citizenship. The power to 
regulate commerce with Indian tribes is given to Con- 
gress. Yet states in which tribes have been located 
have passed laws forbidding the sale of intoxicating 
liquors to Indians. Probably any state law on Indian 
trade not in conflict with federal regulations would be 
sustained by the courts. 

Naturalization of Aliens. — The fourth clause of Sec. 
VIII. gives to Congress power to make uniform laws 
on the subjects of naturalization and bankruptcies. 
An alien is a subject of a foreign country. In some 
states aliens are not permitted to own real estate with- 
out an act of the legislature ; but in a majority of the 
states they enjoy all the rights of property which belong 
to the citizen. A few of the states permit the alien to 
vote before he has been naturalized. In no state can 
he hold office. A state has no right to naturalize a 
foreigner, yet it can confer upon him nearly all the 
rights which naturalization would give. A naturalized 
foreigner enjoys all the rights of a native-born citizen, 
except the right to be President of the United States. 

A term of residence is required before naturalization, 
being fixed at two years by the first law, passed in 1790, 
at five years in 1795, and at fourteen years in 1798. In 
1802 the period of five years was restored, and has re- 
mained to the present day. A notice of intention to 
become a citizen must be filed in a court of record 
two years previous to naturalization. Children who are 
minors at the time their parents are naturalized are 
declared citizens by the law. 



FEDEUAL AND STATE POWERS, 227 

The early laws of Congress restricted naturalization 
to white persons. In 1870 the privilege was extended 
to those of African descent. Some of the courts at 
first granted naturalization papers to Chinese, on the 
ground that they were white; others took a different 
view. In 1882 Congress expressly denied to the Chinese 
the privilege of citizenship. 

Bankrupt Liaws. — One of the chief objects of a 
bankrupt law is to secure a just distribution, among the 
creditors, of the property of those who fail in business, 
and are unable to pay their debts. National bankrupt 
laws have been in operation during only about sixteen 
years. The states have regulated bankruptcies at other 
times. Even while a law of Congress was in force, 
some state laws on the subject which were not in con- 
flict with the federal law were held to be valid. 

Weig'lits and Measures. — The fifth clause of Sec. 
VIII. gives to Congress power to coin money and to 
fix the standard of weights and measures. President 
Washington urged Congress to pass a law on the latter 
subject, and John Quincy Adams, while Secretary of 
the Treasury, in 1821, made an elaborate report on its 
necessity. Congress has never acted in accordance with 
these recommendations. The power which the Consti- 
tation confers upon Congress has been exercised by the 
various states. In 1836 the Secretary of the Treasury 
was directed to present to each state a full set of Brit- 
ish weights and measures, that they might be adopted, 
and that uniformity might thus be secured. The states 
are not required to adopt these as standards. Since 
1866 statutes have been passed by Congress to encourage 
the use of the metric system. Standard metric weights 



228 CONSTITUTIONS. 

and measures have been distributed to the states, and 
a law of Congress makes it possible to enforce in the 
courts contracts in which the metric system is used. 
But no law requires its use. This is one of the best 
illustrations in the Constitution of a power conferred 
upon the federal government, which has in practice been 
left in the hands of the states. 

Counterfeiting'. — As stated in a former chapter, the 
conferring upon Congress of the power to make laws 
for the punishment of counterfeiting has not been con- 
strued by the courts as depriving the states of the 
power to punish the same offence. The counterfeiter 
is therefore liable to punishment by either of the two 
governments. 

Post-Offices and Post-Roads. — The seventh ^clause 
of Sec. VIII. gives to Congress the power to establish 
post-offices and post-roads. One of these powers has 
from the beginning been exclusively exercised by Con- 
gress; the supervision of roads has been almost exclu- 
sively in the hands of the states. The states have no 
control over the postal service. There is no clause in 
the Constitution expressly denying it to the states, 
yet interference on their part would be viewed as an 
encroachment upon a power exclusively federal. The 
mail service will not admit of a divided control. With 
post-roads the case is different. Congress can leave to 
the states, and to individual and corporate enterprise, 
the work of establishing and maintaining highways and 
railroads, and simply provide for the using of them as 
post-roads. 

Patents and Copyrights. — The power of securing 
to inventors and authors iho exclusive vig^^ to their 



FEDERAL AND STATE POWERS, 229 

writings and discoveries for a limited period is con- 
ferred upon Congress by the eighth clause. This 
power is held to be exclusively federal. States may 
not grant either copyrights or patent-rights, and all 
suits growing out of a defence of these rights are tried 
in federal courts. 

An author has the exclusive right to publish and sell 
his writings for the period of twenty-eight years. On 
application of the author, or his widow, or children, six 
months before the expiration of the term, the right may 
be extended fourteen years longer. A patent-right 
secures to the inventor the control of his invention for 
seventeen years. Congress may extend the time. 

Police Power. — Congress has no general police 
power, as each state has police power within its bor- 
ders. The tenth clause of Sec. VIII. gives Congress 
power to punish felonies committed on the high seas, 
and offences against the law of nations. This means 
that Congress shall exercise police power on board of 
American vessels at sea. One offence against the law 
of nations is piracy. The crew of a pirate vessel may 
be punished by any government which captures them, 
without regard to nationality. Another offence against 
the law of nations is the offering of violence to a min- 
ister representing a foreign nation. Congress has pro- 
vided by law for its punishment. Over such offences 
Congress has full power, in whatever part of the country 
they are committed. The seventeenth clause gives to 
Congress all governmental power over the District of 
Columbia, and over lands purchased for forts, and dock- 
yards, and other purposes. The third section of Art. IV. 
gives similar power over all territories of the United 
States. 



230 CONSTITUTIONS, 

Military Powers. — The clauses of Sec. VIII. re- 
lating to military matters, and others in Sec. X., give 
to the federal government full power to maintain an 
army and navy. The states are forbidden to keep troops 
or ships of war. To the states are reserved certain 
rights and powers over the militia. Each state has a 
right to appoint the officers of its own militia, and the 
militia may be trained under the authority of the state ; 
yet the Constitution implies that the state shall follow 
rules of discipline prescribed by Congress. The second 
amendment prohibits the federal government from in- 
fringing the right of the people to keep and bear arms. 
A state government may deprive its people of the right 
to bear arms to any extent not in conflict with federal 
laws. Many of the states forbid the bearing of con- 
cealed weapons. 

Other Grants of Powers. — Besides Sec. VIII. of 
Art. I. there are a few other passages in the Constitu- 
tion which expressly confer powers upon Congress. It 
may provide by law for the election of its own members, 
Art. I., Sec. IV. ; for the appointment to office in the 
civil service. Art. IL, Sec. IL, clause 2 ; may provide for 
the punishment of treason. Art. III., Sec. III.; and 
may propose amendments to the Constitution, Art. V. 
Sec. VIII. closes with a sweeping clause which confers 
upon Congress power '' to make all laws necessary and 
proper " to carry into effect all powers which the Con- 
stitution vests in any department or office of the fed- 
eral government. It is the duty of Congress to provide 
the ways and means of government. 

Implied Powers. — It will be observed that the states 
still possess many of the powers which in the Constitu- 



FEDEBAL AND STATE POWERS. 231 

tion are expressly conferred upon Congress. It depends 
upon the action of the federal government and the 
interpretation of the courts whether the conferring of a 
power deprives a state of its exercise. While Congress 
has not chosen to exercise all the powers expressly con- 
ferred, it has from the beginning exercised many others. 
These are held to be conferred indirectly, being implied 
in some grant of power. 

Assumption of State Debts. -The Constitution 
makes no mention of any power of the federal govern- 
ment to assume and pay the debts of the states. But 
one of the early acts of the government was to provide 
for the payment of the debts which the states had in- 
curred in the Revolutionary War. This was done under 
the plea that these debts were incurred in the common 
defence, and Congress has power to provide for the 
common defence. 

Banks— The word bank is not in the Constitution. 
iTet a United States bank was chartered by Congress in 
1791, another in 1816, and in 1863 there was established 
a system of national banks. The power to do this 
IS held by the courts to be implied in the power to 
collect taxes, to borrow money, and to regulate com- 
merce. The first banks were made agents for collect- 
ing and keeping the revenues of the government. In 
1863, national banks were made a means of borrowing 
money to carry on the war. The powers of taxing and 
borrowing carry with them the power to maintain banks 
as an aid to their exercise. A large proportion of the 
acts of Congress belong to implied powers, rather than 
to powers explessly conferred. Such is the power to 
acquire territory, to maintain a tariff for the encour- 



232 CONSTITUTIONS, 

agement of domestic industries, to promote internal 
improvements, to control railways, to maintain hospitals 
and educational institutions, the signal service, light- 
house and life-saving service, the bureau of education, 
the bureau of labor statistics, and a department for the 
encouragement of agriculture. 

Assumed Powers. — Some of the powers named have 
been decided by the courts to be implied in one or an- 
other of the powers expressly granted. Of some which 
have never been contested it is not easy to say in what 
clause of the Constitution they are implied. Such is 
the authority to collect seeds and distribute them among 
farmers, and in various ways to aid improvements in 
agriculture, as has been done from the beginning. A 
federal power is not likely to be contested unless it 
interferes with some cherished right or tends to limit 
the power of the states. By avoiding these occasions 
of jealousy, the federal government may exercise a 
number of powers which are simply assumed. 

Elastic Clauses. — The clauses which have been most 
relied upon as the source of implied powers are those 
granting the power to tax, to borroAv, to regulate com- 
merce, and to establish post-ofSfices and post-roads. Out 
of the power to regulate commerce, as is now held, may 
be derived unlimited authority over railways as agents 
of interstate commerce. Out of the power to establish 
post-offices is derived the power to take full control of 
the telegraphic business. Some writers on the Consti- 
tution have held that the Preamble is a part of the 
fundamental law, and that from it Confess has power 
to make laws to promote the general welfare. Accord- 
ing to this theory, any power now exercised by the 



CENTBALIZATION AND DECENTRALIZATION, 233 

states may be assumed by Congress, so soon as a major- 
ity of the members believe that the general welfare 
would be thus promoted. But the courts have uni- 
formly ruled that the states have powers not by the 
favor of Congress, but by the terms of the Constitution. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

CENTEALIZATION AND DECENTRALIZATION. 

The Federal Principle. — Perfection in our form of 
government will have been reached, when Congress shall 
have discovered and wisely exercised all the powers 
which the interests of good government require shall 
be in the hands of the general government, and when 
the states shall have become conscious of the limits of 
their powers, and shall have wisely met the responsi- 
bilities placed upon them. The Constitution readily 
yields itself to the search for the best distribution of 
powers. If it is found best not to exercise a power ex- 
pressly conferred, our courts hold that such an unused 
power is still as fully in the hands of the states as if not 
conferred. If it is found best to exercise a power not 
expressly granted, the terms of the grant admit an 
interpretation including the needed powers. 

The plan of giving to the general government con- 
trol of matters of general interest and making the states 
responsible for local concerns is known as the federal 
system of government. The federal principle does not 
end with the states. The counties, besides serving as 
agencies of the central power of the state, may have a 



234 CONSTITUTIONS. 

measure of governmental responsibility. Cities and in^ 
corporated towns exercise much authority, while many 
important powers may be intrusted to townships and 
school districts. Just what powers would better be in- 
trusted to each governmental area, can be determined 
only by experience. A state government may itself 
vote and collect a school tax ; it may appoint a com- 
mittee and maintain a school in every school district of 
the state. Yet a state which accomplishes the same 
ends by giving to the district power to do these things, 
is much more secure in its possession of public schools. 
A temporary change of sentiment might change the 
policy of the state government, and the schools might 
be stopped, and the entire system be threatened. But 
if the system is fixed in the habits of the districts, it 
would be in less danger of serious injury from tempo- 
rary change of sentiment. Many things which may for 
a limited time be more effectively done by the central 
government, will yet, if committed to the local govern- 
ments, in the end be better done. By giving to the small 
local areas a large measure of powers, better govern- 
ment may in the end be secured, and, in addition, the 
people be educated in political wisdom. If destruc- 
tion or anarchy come to the central governments, the 
self-governing parts will prevent universal anarchy. 
Or, if the destructive force originates in one of the parts, 
the conservative strength of the others will aid the cen- 
tral government in its high function of securing general 
order. 

An English paper misapprehended the situation when 
it remarked, in view of the admission at one time of 
four new states, that it remained to be seen whether 



POLITICAL PARTIES. 235 

the federal government would bear such a strain. The 
federal government had for years borne the strain of 
immediate responsibility for their government as terri- 
tories. When they became states, federal responsibility 
for local affairs ceased. The federal government bears 
the strain of the direct government of Utah. Special 
laws are passed for its government, and administered 
by federal officers. When the people of Utah become 
capable of ruling their territory in such a manner as not 
to endanger good government in other places, a state 
will be formed, and the strain upon the federal govern- 
ment will be removed. In a strongly centralized gov- 
ernment every increase in population or territory tends 
to make government more difficult. But under the 
federal system there may be indefinite extension with- 
out increasing the difficulties. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

POLITICAL PARTIES. 

Parties in a Monarchy. — A monarchy is the simplest 
form of government. Where one man is the source of 
law, authority, and order, there is no necessity for polit- 
ical parties. The monarch and those selected by him 
decide all questions, and the people have no pains or 
trouble in the case. People who take an interest in the 
government may organize and maintain a half-dozen 
political parties or societies for the purpose of influ- 
encing action. If they are not to decide what shall be 
done, there is no necessity for majorities. But if the 



236 CONSTITUTIONS. 

people are required to decide questions, there is need 
of majorities. 

Parties in Local Government. — If the voters of a 
school district have to locate a schoolhouse, there may 
be a real difficulty to overcome. There may be twenty- 
five voters, divided into groups of five each ; and each 
group may prefer to have the house in a different place. 
If every voter shovild hold to his own view, and refuse 
to give up his preference, popular selection would be im- 
possible. The friends of each location form a party, and 
try to induce at least eight other voters to unite with 
them. The need is felt of coming to an agreement. 
Some must give up their preferences that a majority 
may be obtained, and the house located by popular 
vote. In almost any county there are three or four 
places where groups of voters Avould prefer to locate the 
county seat. Popular government is not possible unless 
multitudes sacrifice their first choices and unite with 
one or another of the groups which are competing for 
a majority. 

Parties in the State and the Nation. — In these 
local governments it is possible for the voters to divide 
upon questions as they arise, and to decide them by vote. 
Here parties can form and disband with little trouble. 
But it is not easy to form parties for the purpose of de- 
ciding questions in a great state or a great nation. It 
is not ordinarily possible to call into existence national 
parties upon a single issue ; and when national parties are 
organized, it is not easy to disband them. Our Constitu- 
tion furnishes no method for deciding ordinary national 
questions by a direct vote of the people. As a m.atter 
of fact, voters simply exercise a choice between two 



ORIGIN OF PARTY ORGANIZATION, 237 

groups of men or parties who promise to do certain 
things. 

If there are two political parties almost equal in nu- 
merical strength, and actual political issues are under 
discussion, and one party represents one view and the 
other party the opposite view, then it becomes possible 
for the voters to exert an influence in deciding the ques- 
tions at issue. They put into office the party which 
promises to do the things desired. If the party fails to 
do the things promised, the utmost that can be done is 
to wait till the next election, and put the offices into the 
possession of the opposite political party. The people 
are reduced by the necessities of their position to a 
choice between two political parties. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

ORIGII^ OF PAKTY OEGANIZATION. 

Party Organization. — It has been shown in former 
chapters that our federal system came into existence by 
successive general governments being organized over a 
group of older local governments, towns uniting into 
a state, states into a nation. Political parties, or the 
organized agencies by means of which the people are. 
brought into contact with the government, came into 
being in reverse order. First, there was the national 
party organization, then that of the state, and finally 
party organization was extended to the county, city, 
ward, and township. 



238 CONSTITUTIONS, 

The Congressional Caucus. — Washington was chosen 
President each time by common consent, without nomi- 
nation. In 1796 there was an informal agreement among 
the members of the Federal party in Congress, that John 
Adams should be their candidate for the Presidency, and 
among the Republicans that their candidate should be 
Jefferson. In 1800 a caucus of Federalist Congressmen 
nominated Adams and Pinkney for the two offices of 
President and Vice-President, and a caucus of Republi- 
cans nominated Jefferson and Burr. There were regular 
caucus nominations made by each party in 1804. In 
1808 a Republican nominating caucus was called by the 
senator who had been chairman of the caucus in 1804. 
This is the first suggestion of permanence in the organ- 
ization of the caucus. Four years later, the caucus ap- 
pointed a " committee of correspondence," composed of 
one member from each state. This is the first appearance 
of one of the most important features of modern party 
organization. 

The Decline of the Nominating" Caucus. — From the 
beginning there was opposition to the congressional 
caucus. The Federalists made no caucus nomination 
after 1808. In 1812 seventy delegates from eleven 
states met in New York, and nominated De Witt Clinton 
as the Federal candidate. This was tlie forerunner of the 
national convention, which finally displaced the con- 
gressional caucus. The caucuses by which Monroe was 
twice put in nomination were attended by only a part of 
the Republican members of Congress. Crawford, the 
last congressional nominee, was defeated in 1824. State 
caucuses and state committees of correspondence con- 
tinued to have a share in the business of nominating 



ORIGIN OF PARTY ORGANIZATION. 239 

until 1840, when the candidates for each party were 
nominated by national conventions. 

State Nominating" Caucuses. — As congressional 
caucuses nominated candidates for the Presidency, so 
the members of the state legislatures nominated state 
officers. There were nominations by caucus in the 
New York legislature earlier than the first congressional 
caucus nomination. The caucuses in New York and 
Virginia exerted a great influence over other states. 

Conventions. — Nominations by legislative caucus 
were early condemned, as throwing political power into 
the hands of a few men. The extension of the franchise, 
and the growing democratic spirit, led people who were 
not in the legislature to demand a share in the business 
of choosing candidates. As early as 1817, the Republi- 
can caucus in New York admitted to its membership 
delegates from counties which had no Republican repre- 
sentatives in the legislature. In a short time, delegates 
were sent from all th: counties in New York. The ex- 
ample was followed in other states, and in this way the 
party convention took the place of the nominating 
caucus. 

National Conventions. — It required many years to 
perfect the system of convention nominations. The 
Democratic party, which had now displaced the Repub- 
lican party, held an irregular national convention as 
early as 1832. A more perfect convention nominated 
Van Buren in 1835. The Whigs held their first national 
convention in 1839, and nominated Harrison and Tyler. 
It was many years before all the states were represented 
in these conventions. As now organized, each of the 
two national conventions is composed of delegates from 



240 CONSTITUTIONS. 

state conventions, twice as many from each state as it 
has members of Congress. The Republican convention 
admits to full membership two delegates from each ter- 
ritory and one from the District of Columbia. The 
Democratic convention, since the first meeting, held in 
1832, has followed the rule of voting by states in the 
selection of candidates. That is, the entire vote of the 
state is cast as the majority of the delegation from the 
state prefers. The majority may cast the entire vote of 
the State for one candidate, or divide it among several 
without reference to the choice of individual delegates. 
The Democratic convention has also from the first re- 
quired a vote of two-thirds of the delegates to make a 
nomination. In the Republican convention, a majority 
of the delegates makes a nomination, and each member 
may vote regardless of the wishes of the majority from 
his state. 

Platform and Committee. — Besides nominating the 
candidates, the national conventlv^n adopts a series of 
resolutions, called the party platform, setting forth the 
doctrines and principles of the party. It also appoints a 
national committee consisting of one member from each 
state, whose business it is to give direction to the ap- 
proaching campaign, to collect and expend money for 
election expenses, to look after the interests of the party 
during the four years' vacation of the convention, and 
to call the next national convention. The committee is 
not chosen till the nominations are made, and the per- 
sonal wishes of the candidates are consulted in selecting 
its members. 

Cong'ressioiial Committee. — Besides the national 
committee appointed by the convention, there is a 



OEIGIJSf OF PARTY ORGANIZATION, 241 

campaign committee appointed every two years by a 
congressional caucus, to look after the election of con- 
gressmen. This is a survival of the old caucus commit- 
tee, first appointed in 1812. 

liocal Party Organization. — Among the various 
states there is a great diversity in the forms of party 
organization. In general, the states having a highly 
developed system of local government have also a 
highly developed party system. In each state a state 
convention is held annually, or as often as there are state 
officers to elect. Once in four years the state conven- 
tions select delegates to the national convention. In 
the national convention the number of delegates from 
each state is fixed without reference to its party strength. 
In a state convention delegates are allowed to the coun- 
ties or districts in proportion to the party vote at a re- 
cent election. In other respects the state convention 
resembles the national convention. It adopts a party 
platform ; it nominates candidates for state offices ; it 
appoints a committee to look after the interests of the 
party until the next convention. In many states a con- 
vention is held in each county, to nominate county 
officers, select delegates to the state convention, and ap- 
point a county committee. The county convention also 
sends delegates to conventions in congressional districts, 
to nominate candidates for Congress, and in judicial dis- 
tricts to nominate judges and other district officers. 
These last are usually purely nominating conventions, 
in which no committees are chosen and no delegates 
are selected to a convention of higher grade. 

The Primary. — The object of all this elaborate party 
machinery is to enable the people to choose their rulers. 



242 CONSTITUTIONS, 

If an ordinary voter should attempt to take part in any- 
one of the conventions described in the previous para- 
graphs, he would be ruled out of order. No one can 
act except delegates. But there is a place where this 
party machinery touches the ordinary voter. The party 
meeting in which he is permitted to act is called a pri- 
mary. In some places the county is made the area for 
the primary meeting, but in most states it is the town, 
the township, or the ward. 

The Machine in Action. — We will now suppose 
that a candidate for the Presidency is to be chosen and 
a national platform is to be adopted. The chairman of 
the township committee will publish a notice for a 
meeting of the township primary. At the appointed 
time the voters of the party assemble. They discuss 
the merits of candidates, and adopt statements of their 
views on political questions and party issues. They 
select delegates to the approaching county convention. 
The date of the county convention is fixed by the chair- 
man of the county committee. The meeting is com- 
posed of delegates from all the primaries of the county. 
These compare their views as to candidates and party 
issues, and select delegates to the state convention. 
The state convention is supposed to embody the senti- 
ment of all the primaries in the state. Delegates are 
chosen to express these sentiments in the national con- 
vention. The national convention speaks in the name 
of all the voters of the party in the nation. 



PARTY ABUSES. 243 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

PARTY ABUSES. 

Some Difficulties. — The above is a sort of ideal de- 
scription, showing how the party machine might work, 
rather than how it does work. Eyen where the prima- 
ries are free and uncorrupted, there are serious prac- 
tical difficulties in the working of the machine. The 
same primaries and county and state conventions w^hich 
select delegates to a national convention, are at the same 
time used to nominate local and state officers. In the 
free primary, nominations may be made for any number 
of local offices, each nominee receiving a majority of the 
votes, while the individuals voting for each may be 
different. A new majority may be made upon each 
question to be settled. But the one set of delegates 
whom they send to the county convention will have 
power to decide many different questions. If the dele- 
gates are chosen with sole reference to their views on 
the Bresidency and on national issues, it would be a 
mere accident if they expressed the views of the major- 
ity of the primary on each of the county officers to be 
nominated, or on each of the candidates for state offices, 
and on the various questions in state politics. The con- 
ventions, at best, can express the views of the prima- 
ries but imperfectly. 

Defective Primaries. — In practice, the greatest dif- 
ficulties have been found in the primaries themselves. 
More than nine-tenths of the voters perform the last act 
in the working of the party machine, that is, voting for 



244 CONSTITUTIONS, 

the party candidates ; yet not one voter in ten has been 
induced to give attention habitually to the first act, 
which is tenfold more important in determining the 
character of the government. The primaries every- 
where have suffered from simple neglect. The citizens 
have submitted to the party machine ; they have not 
accepted it and tried to work it in the interests of good 
gove'rnment. If it were left to the best citizens, the 
fcAV in number, to attend the primaries and give direc- 
tion to the forces which determine the character of the 
government, party rule, though not a government by 
the people, would still be a government by the better 
sort of people. There are places where activity in local 
party work is recognized as a mark of good citizenship. 
There are citizens who do attend the primaries from the 
most worthy motives. These are the very salt of the 
earth so far as good government is concerned, and if 
primaries could be controlled by them, 'the party ma- 
chine would yield good government. 

Corrupt Primaries. — There are places where the 
control of the primaries has fallen into unworthy hands. 
This is especially true in many great cities. The voters 
in a city primary are strangers to each other. To pre- 
vent fraudulent voting, it has seemed desirable that lists 
of party members should be made, and that the officers 
of the primary should give much time and attention to 
party work. Respectable and honorable^ citizens have 
neglected or refused to do this work. The business has 
fallen into the hands of corrupt men. These hold the 
meetings in places where respectable people dislike to 
go. They admit to the lists of voters in the primary 
only those who submit to their leadership. The great 



PARTY ABUSES, 245 

body of the party voters is deprived of tlie privilege 
of voting, and tlieir places are filled in the lists hj 
the names of unnaturalized foreigners, or by fictitious 
names. It has thus come to pass that at the primary 
election, which virtually determines who shall be city 
officers, who shall make laws in the state legislature 
and in Congress, and which indirectly decides who shall 
be judges, governor of the state, and President of the 
United States, the great body of the citizens are dis- 
franchised, and the voting power is wielded by a few 
corrupt men. 

Sources of Corruption. — The few who manage the 
primaries in the large cities obtain money in the follow- 
ing ways: 1. They collect contributions from candi- 
dates as a condition of nomination. 2. They are 
appointed to offices on large salaries, nominally for hon- 
orable public service, while they are really occupied in 
corrupt party service. 3. They levy contributions, or 
assessments, upon the many employees and officers of 
the government whom they have influence to remove 
from office. 4. They rob the treasury by fraudulent 
contracts with their tools in office for furnishing mate- 
rial or service to the government. 5. They exact con- 
tributions from men in business, under a threat of using 
the power of the government in such a manner as to 
injure their business. Tliere are no forms of financial 
dishonor practised by the worst of despots, which have 
not been employed by the managers of the corrupted 
primaries, to support the men who monopolize political 
power. 

The question has often been asked. Why do the good 
citizens who live in places ruled by these corrupted 



246 CONSTITUTIONS, 

primaries submit to disfranchisement at the hands of 
plunderers of the public treasury ? No satisfactory- 
answer will probably ever be given to this question. 
The most frequent answer is that the people are too busy 
to give attention to politics. If the corrupted primaries, 
which are at present only a few plague spots on the body 
politic, should spread to every part, and government 
by the people should thus perish from this land, it 
would no more prove that free government is a failure, 
than the early death of an inebriate proves the exist- 
ence of a bad climate. Such a catastrophe would only 
indicate that the sort of people who chanced to live 
here did not think it worth their while to strive habit- 
ually to maintain a government of the people. 

Reforms. — The corrupted primaries in large cities 
are closely connected with the spoils system in politics. 
In the city there are many public offices, both city and 
federal, filled by appointment, which have been largely 
used as means of corruption. To diminish these evils, 
laws have been passed by the federal government and 
by some of the states, making entrance to the public 
service depend upon a competitive examination, instead 
of upon party service as formerly. There are also laws 
punishing persons in the public service for collecting 
money from one another for party purposes. Some of 
the states have passed laws for the punishment of frauds 
committed at the primary elections. The introduction 
of the Australian system of voting will, it is hoped, 
diminish the evil effects of corrupt primaries. In some 
places the primary election is separate from any party 
meeting, and has the form of an ordinary election, at 
which all the members of the party have a right to 



MINOB PARTY ORGANIZATIONS, 247 

vote. A proposed method of breaking up the corrupt 
primaries, is for the government to establish a primary 
or nominating election, to be held under the authority 
of law, either for a party by itself, or for all citizens to- 
gether. 



CHAPTER XLV. 

MINOR PARTY ORGANIZATIONS. 

Third Parties. — It has taken a long while to com- 
plete the organization of the two great national par- 
ties. These complex organizations have now become 
thoroughly established, and they are the agencies by 
means of which the people are enabled to choose their 
rulers. From the beginning there have been, outside 
of the two great parties, groups of voters devoted to 
special political interests, who have nominated can- 
didates for office, and have been known by a party 
name. In recent years there have been the Greenback 
Party, the Union Labor Party, the Prohibition Party, 
the Anti-Secret Society Party, and the Woman Suf- 
frage Party. All these have nominated candidates for 
the Presidency, and some of them in certain localities 
have had influence on elections. These minor party 
organizations are chiefly important for promoting the 
discussion of special questions. In this way they in- 
fluence the party which controls the government. In 
the case of some of these parties, all that the promoters 
expect is to induce one of the regular parties to give 
effect to their views. Some of the minor parties expect 
their organization ultimately to extend to every part of 



248 CONSTITUTIONS. 

the nation and entirely displace one of the great parties. 
It will be seen how difficult is such a task, when we 
remember how extensive and thorough are the organi- 
zations of the present parties, and how long it has taken 
to perfect them. 

The Case of the Whig* Party. — - The Republican 
party did displace the Whig party between the years 
1852 and 1856. At that time party organization was by 
no means as strong as now. The circumstances were 
peculiar. There was one political issue which voters in 
every part of the land looked upon as more important 
than all others combined. This was whether slavery 
shou.ld be extended into the territory recently acquired 
from Mexico and into other unoccupied territory. The 
regular parties failed to join issue on this question. The 
new party took the field because the minds of the vot- 
ers were already prepared for it. To-day it is possible 
to state twenty distinct political questions, and each is 
thought by a certain class of voters more important 
than all others. Political issues grow more numerous, 
and voters are less united in opinion as to their rela- 
tive importance. 



CHAPTER XLVL 

PARTY ISSUES. 

Party Principles. — Throughout our entire history, 
the most permanent question which has distinguished 
parties has been the relation of the states to the federal 
government. The members of one political party have 
emphasized the importance of the states. They are 
inclined to interpret strictly the grant of powers to the 



PABTY ISSUES. 249 

federal government, and thus secure to the states a 
wider range of powers. The other party has given a 
greater emphasis to the importance of the federal gov- 
ernment. By its members the grant of powers in the 
Constitution has been interpreted liberally, thus enlarg- 
ing the field of federal action at the expense of the 
states. As has been shown in former chapters, the pre- 
cise boundary between the two governments is likely to 
be changed from time to time, and it will be convenient 
to have at hand two political parties, the one to guard the 
interests of the states, and the other to guard the interests 
of the federal government, that neither may suffer per- 
manent detriment. The present Democratic party has 
inherited from the former Republican party founded by 
Jefferson, the traditions which should impel it to guard 
against centralization of power. The present Republi- 
can party has inherited from the Whig, and that from 
the older Federal party, of which Hamilton was the 
most conspicuous leader, the traditions which should 
impel it to zealous care for the national government. 

Party Issues. — The principles of the two parties, as 
stated above, have determined their policy on many ques- 
tions. Thus the party of Hamilton has favored, and the 
party of Jefferson has opposed, the payment by the 
federal government of the state debts incurred in the 
War of the Revolution ; the chartering of federal banks 
for the issue of paper money; a liberal use of federal 
revenues in promoting internal improvements, and the 
maintenance of a protective tariff. At' the present 
time (1890), the issues between the two parties are not 
clearly drawn. The Republican party advocates a pro- 
tective tariff, while admitting the need of tariff reduction 
and a revision of the tariff list. The Democratic party 



250 CONSTITUTIONS. 

advocates tariff reform, while admitting the need of a 
measure of protection. Each party professes to favor 
the removal of the spoils system from politics. Each 
favors the control of railways by the federal govern- 
ment. Each party shows a tendency to favor greater 
restriction upon foreign immigration. Each party is 
divided on the questions whether the coining of silver 
dollars should be continued, and whether the present 
system of national banks should be retained. 

Questions in State Politics. — Many of the questions 
of chief interest to the voters are such as can be settled 
only by the action of states. Such are the questions 
whether the public shall furnish school-books to pupils 
in the public schools ; whether the state shall let out its 
prisoners to contractors ; what measures shall be adopted 
to a'djust difficulties between laborers and their employ- 
ers; how trusts and corporations shall be prevented 
from injuring the public ; what the government shall 
do to control or suppress the liquor traffic. These and 
many like questions, now demanding the attention of 
voters, are to be settled almost wholly by state action. 
Yet the political parties from whose nominees the peo- 
ple choose the officers of government are formed chiefly 
on national issues. There is no natural correspondence 
between federal party issues and state party issues. It 
often happens that a citizen finds himself a Republican 
in national politics and a Democrat in state politics. 
Many voters are confused by the fact that the same 
party machine is used in two governments exercising 
distinct functions. As the government comes to be 
better understood, citizens will be likely to form differ- 
ent party combinations on state and federal issues. 



APPENDIX A. 

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 

Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union between 
the States of New Hampshire^ Massachusetts Bay^ 
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations^ Connecti- 
cut^ New Yorh^ New Jersey^ Pennsylvania^ Delaware^ 
Maryland^ Virginia^ North Carolina^ South Carolina^ 
and Creorgia. 

Article I. — The style of this Confederacy shall be^ 
" The United States of America." 
. Art. II. — Each State retains its sovereignty, free- 
dom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, 
and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly 
delegated to the United States in Congress assembled. 

Art. III. — The said States hereby severally enter 
into a firm league of friendship with each other, for 
their common defense, the security of their liberties, 
and their mutual and general welfare, binding them- 
selves to assist each other against all force offered to, 
or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account 
of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense 
whatever. 

Art. IV. — The better to secure and perpetuate 
mutual friendship and intercourse among the people of 
the different States in this Union, the free inhabitants 
of each of these States, paupers, vagabonds, and fugi- 



252 APPENDIX A. 

tives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all 
privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several 
States; and the people of each State shall have free 
ingress and egress to and from any other State, and 
shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and com- 
merce subject to the same duties, impositions, and 
restrictions as the inhabitants thereof respectively; 
provided that such restrictions shall not extend so far 
as to prevent the removal of property imported into 
any State to any other State of which the owner is an 
inhabitant; provided also, that no imposition, duties, 
or restriction shall be laid by any State on the property 
of the United States or either of them. If any person 
guilty of, or charged with, treason, felony, or other high 
misdemeanor in any State shall flee from justice and 
be found in any of the United States, he shall, upon 
demand of the governor or executive power of the 
State from which he fled, be delivered up and removed 
to the State having jurisdiction of his offense. Full 
faith and credit shall be given in each of these States 
to the records, acts, and judicial proceedings of the 
courts and magistrates of every other State. 

Art. V, — For the more convenient management 
of the general interests of the United States, delegates 
shall be annually appointed in such manner as the 
Legislature of each State shall direct, to meet in Con- 
gress on the first Monday in November, in every year 
with a power reserved to each State to recall its dele- 
gates, or any of them, at any time within the year, and 
to send others in their stead for the remainder of the 
year. No State shall be represented in Congress by 
less than two, nor by more than seven members ; and 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 253 

no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more 
than three years in any term of six years; nor shall 
any person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any 
office under the United States for which he, or another 
for his benefit, receives any salary, fees, or emolument 
of any kind. Each State shall maintain its own dele- 
gates in any meeting of the States and while they act 
as members of the Committee of the States. In deter- 
mining questions in the United States in Congress 
assembled, each State shall have one vote. Freedom 
of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached 
or questioned in any court or place out of Congress ; 
and the members of Congress shall be protected in 
their persons from arrests and imprisonment during the 
time of their going to and from, and attendance on, 
Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the 
peace. 

Aet. VI. — No State, without the consent of the 
United States, in Congress assembled, shall send any 
embassy to, or receive any embassy from, or enter into 
any conference, agreement, alliance, or treaty with any 
king, prince, or state ; nor shall any person holding any 
office of profit or trust under the United States, or 
any of them, accept of any present, emolument, office, 
or title of any kind whatever from any king, prince, or 
foreign state ; nor shall the United States, in Congress 
assembled, or any of them, grant any title of nobility. 

No two or more States shall enter into any treaty, 
confederation, or alliance whatever between them, 
without the consent of the United States, in Congress 
assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for which 
the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall 
continue. 



254 APPENDIX A. 

No State shall lay any imposts or duties which may 
interfere with any stipulations in treaties entered into 
by the United States, in Congress assembled, with any 
king, prince, or state, in pursuance of any treaties 
already proposed by Congress to the courts of France 
and Spain. 

No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace 
by any State, except such number only as shall be 
deemed necessary by the United States, in Congress 
assembled, for the defence of such State or its trade, 
nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any State in 
time of peace, except such number only as, in the judg- 
ment of the United States, in Congress assembled, shall 
be deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for 
the defense of such State ; but every State shall always 
keep up a well-regulated and disciplined militia, suffi- 
ciently armed and accoutred, and shall provide and 
constantly have ready for use in public stores a due 
number of field-pieces and tents, and a proper quantity 
of arms, ammunition, and camp equipage. 

No State shall engage in any war without the con- 
sent of the United States, in Congress assembled, unless 
such State be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have 
received certain advice of a resolution being formed by 
some nation of Indians to invade such State, and the 
danger is so imminent as not to admit of a delay till 
the United States, in Congress assembled, can be con- 
sulted ; nor shall any State grant commissions to any 
ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, 
except it be after a declaration of war by the United 
States, in Congress assembled, and then only against 
the kingdom or state, and the subjects thereof, against 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 255 

which war has been so declared, and under such regula- 
tions as shall be established by the United States, in 
Congress assembled, unless such State be infested by- 
pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitted out 
for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall 
continue, or until the United States, in Congress assem- 
bled, shall determine otherwise. 

Art. VII. — When land forces are raised by any 
State for the common defense, all officers of or under 
the rank of Colonel shall be appointed by the Legis- 
lature of each State respectively by whom such forces 
shall be raised, or in sjich manner as such State shall 
direct, and all vacancies shall be filled up by the State 
which first made the appointment. 

Akt. VIII. — All charges of war, and all other 
expenses that shall be incurred for the common defense, 
or general welfare, and allowed by the United States, in 
Congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common 
treasury, which shall be supplied by the several States 
in proportion to the value of all land within each State, 
granted to, or surveyed for, any person, as such land 
and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be 
estimated, according to such mode as the United States, 
in Congress assembled, shall, from time to time, direct 
and appoint. The taxes for paying that proportion 
shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction 
of the Legislatures of the several States, within the 
time agreed upon by the United States, in Congress 
assembled. 

Art. IX. — The United States, in Congress assem- 
bled, shall fiave the sole and exclusive right and power 
of determining on peace and war, except in the cases 



256 APPENDIX A. 

mentioned in the sixth Article ; of sending and receiv- 
ing ambassadors; entering into treaties and alliances, 
provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made, 
whereby the legislative power of the respective States 
shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and 
duties on foreigners as their own people are subjected 
to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation 
of any species of goods or commodities whatever; of 
establishing rules for deciding, in all cases, what cap- 
tures on land and water shall be legal, and in what 
manner prizes taken by land or naval forces in the ser- 
vice of the United States shall be divided or appro- 
priated; of granting letters of marque and reprisal in 
times of peace ; appointing courts for the trial of pira- 
cies and felonies committed on the high seas; and estab- 
lishing courts for receiving and determining finally 
appeals in all cases of captures ; provided that no mem- 
ber of Congress shall be appointed a judge of any of 
the said courts. 

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall also 
be the last resort on appeal in all disputes and dif- 
ferences now subsisting, or that hereafter may arise 
between two or more States concerning boundary, juris- 
diction, or any other cause whatever ; which authority 
shall always be exercised in the manner following; 
Whenever the legislative or executive authority, or law. 
ful agent of any State in controversy with another, 
shall present a petition to Congress, stating the matter 
in question, and praying for a hearing, notice thereof 
shall be given by order of Congress to the legislative or 
executive authority of the other State in controversy, 
and a day assigned for the appearance of the parties 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 257 

by their lawful agents, who shall then be directed to 
appoint, by joint consent, commissioners or judges to 
constitute a court for hearing and determining the mat- 
ter in question ; but if they cannot agree, Congress shall 
name three persons out of each of the United States, 
and from the list of such persons each party shall alter- 
nately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until 
the number shall be reduced to thirteen ; and from that 
number not less than seven nor more than nine names, 
as Congress shall direct, shall, in the presence of Con- 
gress, be drawn out by lot; and the persons whose 
names shall be so drawn, or any five of them, shall be 
commissioners or judges, to hear and finally determine 
the controversy, so always as a major part of the judges 
who shall hear the cause shall agree in the determina- 
tion ; and if either party shall neglect to attend at the 
day appointed, without showing reasons which Congress 
shall judge sufficient, or being present, shall refuse to 
strike, the Congress shall proceed to nominate three 
persons out of each State, and the secretary of Congress 
shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing ; 
and the judgment and sentence of the court, to be ap- 
pointed in the manner before prescribed, shall be final 
and conclusive ; and if any of the parties shall refuse to 
submit to the authority of such court, or to appear or 
defend their claim or cause, the court shall nevertheless 
proceed to pronounce sentence or judgment, which shall 
in like manner be final and decisive ; the judgment or 
sentence and other proceedings being in either case 
transmitted to Congress, and lodged among the acts of 
Congress for the security of the parties concerned ; pro- 
vided, that every commissioner, before he sits in judg- 



258 APPENDIX A. 

ment, shall take an oath, to be administered by one of 
the judges of the supreme or superior court of the 
State where the cause shall be tried, " well and truly to 
hear and determine the matter in question, according to 
the best of his judgment, without favor, affection, or 
hope of reward." Provided, also, that no State shall 
be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United 
States. 

All controversies concerning the private right of soil 
claimed under different grants of two or more States, 
whose jurisdictions, as they may respect such lands, and 
the States which passed such grants are adjusted, the 
said grants or either of them being at the same time 
claimed to have originated antecedent to such settle- 
ment of jurisdiction, shall, on the petition of either party 
to the Congress of the United States, be finally deter- 
mined, as near as may be, in the same manner as is 
before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting terri- 
torial jurisdiction between different States. 

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall also 
have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulat- 
ing the alloy and value of coin struck by their own 
authority, or by that of the respective States; fixing 
the standard of weights and measures throughout the 
United States; regulating the trade and managing all 
affairs with the Indians, not members of any of the 
States ; provided that the legislative right of any State, 
within its own limits, be not infringed or violated; 
establishing and regulating post-offices from one State 
to another, throughout all the United States, and exact- 
ing such postage on the papers passing through the same 
as may be requisite to defray the expenses of the said 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 259 

office ; appointing all officers of the land forces in the 
service of the United States, excepting regimental offi- 
cers ; appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and 
commissioning all officers whatever in the service of the 
United States; making rules for the government and 
regulation of the said land and naval forces, and direct- 
ing their operations. 

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall have 
authority to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of 
Congress, to be denominated "A Committee of the 
States," and to consist of one delegate from each State, 
and to appoint such other committees and civil officers 
as may be necessary for managing the general affairs 
of the United States under their direction ; to appoint 
one of their number to preside ; provided that no per- 
son be allowed to serve in the office of president more 
than one year in any term of three years ; to ascertain 
the necessary sums of money to be raised for the ser- 
vice of the United States, and to appropriate and apply 
the same for defraying the public expenses ; to borrow 
money or emit bills on the credit of the United States, 
transmitting every half year to the respective States an 
account of the sums of money so borrowed or emitted ; 
to build and equip a navy ; to agree upon the number 
of land forces, and to make requisitions from each State 
for its quota, in proportion to the number of white in- 
habitants in such State, which requisition shall be bind- 
ing ; and thereupon the Legislature of each State shall 
appoint the regimental officers, raise the men, and 
clothe, arm, and equip them in a soldier-like manner, 
^ at the expense of the United States ; and the officers 
and men so clothed, armed, and equipped shall march 



260 APPENDIX A. 

to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on 
by the United States, in Congress assembled ; but if 
the United States, in Congress assembled, shall, on 
consideration of circumstances, judge proper that any- 
State should not raise men, or should raise a smaller 
number than its quota, and that any other State should 
raise a greater number of men than the quota thereof, 
such extra number shall be raised, officered, clothed, 
armed, and equipped in the same manner as the quota 
of such State, unless the Legislature of such State shall 
judge that such extra number can not be safely spared 
out of the same, in which case they shall raise, officer, 
clothe, arm, and equip as many of such extra number 
as they judge can be safely spared, and the officers and 
men so clothed, armed, and equipped shall march to 
the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by 
the United States, in Congress assembled. 

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall 
never engage in a war, nor grant letters of marque and 
reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into any treaties or 
alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, 
nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the 
defense and welfare of the United States, or any of 
them, nor emit bills, nor borrow money on the credit 
of the United States, nor appropriate money, nor 
agree upon the number of vessels of war to be built or 
purchased, or the number of land or sea forces to be 
raised, nor appoint a commander-in-chief of the army 
or navy, unless nine States assent to the same, nor shall 
a question on any other point, except for adjourning 
from day to day, be determined, unless by the votes of 
a majority of the United States, in Congress assembled. 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 261 

The Congress of the United States shall have power 
to adjourn to any time within the year, and to any 
place within the United States, so that no period of ad- 
journment be for a longer duration than the space of 
six months, and shall publish the journal of their pro- 
ceedings monthly, except such parts thereof relating to 
treaties, alliances, or military operations as in their 
judgment require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of 
the delegates of each State, on any question, shall be 
entered on the journal when it is desired by any dele- 
gate ; and the delegates of a State, or any of them, at 
his or their request, shall be furnished with a transcript 
of the said journal except such parts as are above ex- 
cepted, to lay before the Legislatures of the several 
States. 

Art. X. — The Committee of the States, or any 
nine of them, shall be authorized to execute, in the 
recess of Congress, such of the powers of Congress as 
the United States, in Congress assembled, by the con- 
sent of nine States, shall, from time to time, think ex- 
pedient to vest them with ; provided that no power 
be delegated to the said Committee, for the exercise 
of which, by the Articles of Confederation, the voice 
of nine States in the Congress of the United States 
assembled is requisite. 

Aut. XI. — Canada, acceding to this Confederation, 
and joining in the measures of the United States shall 
be admitted into, and entitled to all the advantages of 
this Union ; but no other colony shall be admitted into 
the same, unless such admission be agreed to by nine 
States. 

A:rt. XII. — AIL bills of credit emitted, moneys bor- 



262 APPENDIX A. 

rowed, and debts contracted by or under the authority 
of Congress, before the assembling of the United States, 
in pursuance of the present Confederation, shall be 
deemed and considered as a charge against the United 
States, for payment and satisfaction whereof the said 
United States and the public faith are hereby solemnly 
pledged. 

Art. XIII. — Every State shall abide by the deter- 
minations of the United States, in Congress assembled, 
on all questions which by this Confederation are sub- 
mitted to them. And the Articles of this Confederation 
shall be inviolably observed by every State, and the 
Union shall be perpetual ; nor shall any alteration at 
any time hereafter be made in any of them, unless such 
alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United 
States, and be afterwards confirmed by the Legislatures 
of every State. 

And whereas* it hath pleased the great Governor 
of the world to incline the hearts of the Legislatures 
we respectively represent in Congress to approve of, 
and to authorize us to ratify, the said Articles of Con- 
federation and perpetual Union, know ye, that we, the 
undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and 
authority to us given for that purpose, do, by these 
presents, in the name and in behalf of our respective 
constituents, fully and entirely ratify and confirm each 
and every of the said Articles of Confederation and 
perpetual Union, and all and singular the matters and 
things therein contained. And we do further sol- 
emnly plight and engage the faith of our respective 
constituents, that they shall abide by the determinations 
of the United States, in Congress assembled, on all 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 263 

questions which by the said Confederation are sub- 
mitted to them ; and that the Articles thereof shall be 
inviolably observed by the States we respectively repre- 
sent, and that the Union shall be perpetual. In wit- 
ness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands in 
Congress. Done at Philadelphia, in the State of Penn- 
sylvania, the ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord 
1778, and in the third year of the Independence of 
America. 



APPENDIX B. 

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF 
AMERICA. 

Preamble. 

We the people of the United States, in order to form 
a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic 
tranquillity,- provide for the common defense, promote 
the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty 
to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish 
this Constitution for the United States of America. 

Article I. Legislative Department. 

Section L Congress in General. 

All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested 
in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist 
of a Senate and House of Representatives. 

Section IZ House of Representatives. 

1. The House of Representatives shall be composed 
of members chosen every second year by the people of 
the several States ; and the electors in each State shall 
have the qualifications requisite . for electors of the 
most numerous branch of the State Legislature. 



THE CONSTITUTION, 265 

2. Nd person shall be a representative who shall not 
have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been 
seven years a citizen of the United States, and who 
shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State 
in which he shall be chosen. 

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be appor- 
tioned among the several States which may be included 
within this Union, according to their respective num- 
bers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole 
number of free persons, including those bound to ser- 
vice for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, 
three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumera- 
tion shall be made within three years after the first 
meeting of the Congress of the United States, and 
within every subsequent term of ten years, in such 
manner as they shall by law direct. The number of 
representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty 
thousand, but each State shall have at least one repre- 
sentative; and until such enumeration shall be made, 
the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose 
three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Provi- 
dence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six. 
New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, 
Maryland six, Virginia ten. North Carolina five, South 
Carolina five, and Georgia three. 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from 
any State, the executive authority thereof shall issue 
writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

6. The House of Representatives shall choose their 
speaker and other officers, and shall have th^ sole 
power of impeachment. 



266 APPENDIX B. 

Section III. Senate. 

1. The Senate of the United States shall be com- 
posed of two senators from each State, chosen by the 
Legislature thereof for six years, and each senator 
shall have one vote. 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in con- 
sequence of the first election, they shall be divided, as 
equally as may be, into three classes. The seats of the 
senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expira- 
tion of the second year, of the second class at the 
expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class at 
the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may 
be chosen every second year ; and if vacancies happen, 
by resignation or otherwise, during the recess of the 
Legislature of any State, the executive thereof may 
make temporary appointments until the next meeting 
of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have 
attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years 
a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when 
elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he 
shall be chosen. 

4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be 
President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless 
they be equally divided. 

5. The Senate shall choose their officers, and also a 
president pro tempore^ in the absence of the Vice-Pres- 
ident, or when he shall exercise the office of President 
of the United States. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all 
impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they 



THE CONSTITUTION. 267 

shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of 
the United States is tried, the chief justice shall pre- 
side; and no person shall be convicted without the 
concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 

7. Judgment in case of impeachment shall not extend 
farther than to removal from office, and disqualification 
to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit 
under the United States ; but the party convicted shall, 
nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, 
judgment, and punishment according to law. 

Section IV, Both Houses, 

1. The times, places, and manner of holding elections 
for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in 
each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress 
may at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, 
except as to the place of choosing senators. 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every 
year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in 
December, unless they shall by law appoint a different 
day. 

Section V, The Houses Separately, 

1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, 
returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a 
majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do busi- 
ness ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to 
day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance 
of absent members, in such manner and under such 
penalties as each house may provide. 

2. Each house may determine the rules of its pro- 
ceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, 



268 APPENDIX B. 

and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a 
member. 

3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceed- 
ings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting 
such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; 
and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, 
on any question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those 
present, be entered on the journal. 

4. Neither house during the session of Congress shall, 
without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than 
three days, nor to any other place than that in which 
the two houses shall be sitting. 

Section VI. Privileges and Disabilities of Members. 

1. The senators and representatives shall receive a 
compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law 
and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They 
shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach 
of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their 
attendance at the session of their respective houses, 
and in going to or returning from the same ; and for 
any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be 
questioned in any other place. 

2. No senator or representative shall, during the 
time for which he was elected, be appointed to any 
civil office under the authority of the United States, 
which shall have been created, or the emoluments 
whereof shall have been increased, during such time ; 
and no person holding any office under the United 
States shall be a member of either house during his 
continuance in office. 



THE CONSTITUTION. 269 

Section VIL Mode of Passing Laws. 

1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
House of Representatives; but the Senate may pro- 
pose or concur with amendments, as on other bills. 

2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of 
Representatives and the Senate shall, before it become 
a law, be presented to the President of the United 
States ; if he approve, he shall sign it ; but if not, he 
shall return it, with his objections, to that house in 
which it shall have originated, who shall enter the 
objections at large on their journal, and proceed to 
reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds 
of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be 
sent, together with the objections, to the other house, 
by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if ap- 
proved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a 
law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses 
shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names 
of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be 
entered on the journal of each house respectively. If 
any bill shall not be returned by the President within 
ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been 
presented to him, the same shall be a law in like man- 
ner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their 
adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall 
not be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the con- 
currence of the Senate and House of Representatives 
may be necessary (except on a question of adjourn- 
ment) shall be presented to the President of the United 
States ; and before the same shall take effect, shall be 



270 APPENDIX B, 

approved by him, or, being disapproved by him, shall 
be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, according to the rules and limitations 
prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Section VIIL Powers granted to Congress. 

The Congress shall have power : 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and 
excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common 
defense and general welfare of the United States ; but 
all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform through- 
out the United States ; 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United 
States ; 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and 
among the several States, and with the Indian tribes ; 

4. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and 
uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies, throughout 
the United States ; 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof and of 
foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and 
measures ; 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting 
the securities and current coin of the United States ; 

T. To establish post-offices and post-roads ; 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful 
arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inven- 
tors the exclusive right to their respective writings and 
discoveries ; 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme 
Court ; 



THE CONSTITUTION. 271 

10. To define and punish felonies committed on the 
high seas, and offenses against the law of nations ; 

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and 
reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land 
and water ; 

12. To raise and support armies; but no appropria- 
tion of money to that use shall be for a longer term 
than two years; * 

13. To provide and maintain a navy ; 

14. To make rules for the government and regula- 
tion of the land and naval forces ; 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to exe- 
cute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and 
repel invasions ; 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disci- 
plining the militia, and for governing such part of them 
as may be employed in the service of the United States, 
reserving to the States respectively the appointment of 
the officers, and the authority of training the militia 
according to the discipline prescribed by Congress ; 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases 
whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles 
square) as may, by cession of particular States and the 
acceptance of Congress, become the seat of govern- 
ment of the United States, and to exercise like author 
ity over all places purchased, by the consent of the 
Legislature of the State, in which the same shall be, for 
the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, 
and other needful buildings ; and 

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and 
proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, 
and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the 



272 APPENDIX B, 

government of the United States, or in any department 
or office thereof. 

Section IX, Powers denied to the United States, 

1. The migration or importation of such persons as 
any of the States now existing shall think proper to 
admit shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to 
the y^ar one thousand eight hundred and eight ; but a 
tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not 
exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall 
not be suspended unless when, in case of rebellion oi 
invasion, the public safety may require it. 

3. No bill of attainder, or ex-post-facto law, shall be 
passed. 

4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, 
unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein 
before directed to be taken. 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported 
from any State. 

6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of 
commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over those 
of another; nor shall vessels bound to or from one State 
be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

7. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in 
consequence of appropriations made by law ; and a reg- 
ular statement and account of the receipts and expen- 
ditures of all public money shall be published from time 
to time. 

8. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United 
States; and no person holding any office of profit or 
trust under them shall, without the consent of the Con- 



THE CONSTITUTION. 273 

gress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title 
of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign 
state. 

Section X. Powers denied to the States. 

1. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or 
confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; 
coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but 
gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass 
any bill of attainder, ex-post-facto law, or law impair- 
ing the obligation of contracts; or grant any title of 
nobility. 

2. No State shall, without the consent of the Con- 
gress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, 
except what may be absolutely necessary for executing 
its inspection laws ; and the net produce of all duties 
and imposts laid by any State on imports or exports 
shall be for the use of the treasury of the United 
States, and all such laws shall be subject to the revision 
and control of the Congress. 

3. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay 
any duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time 
of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with an- 
other State or with a foreign power, or engage in war 
unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as 
will not admit of delays. 

Article II. Executive Department. 

Section I. President and Vice-President. 

1. The executive power shall be vested in a Presi- 
dent of the United States of America. He shall hold 



274 APPENDIX B. 

his office during the term of four years, and, together 
with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be 
elected as follows : — 

2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the 
Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, 
equal to the whole number of senators and representa- 
tives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; 
but no senator or representative, or person holding an 
office of trust or profit under the United States, shall 
be appointed an elector. 

3. [The electors shall meet in their respective States, 
and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at 
least shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with 
themselves. And they shall make a list of all the per- 
sons voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; 
which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit, 
sealed, to the seat of the government of the United 
States, directed to the President of the Senate. The 
President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the cer- 
tificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The 
person having the greatest number of votes shall be the 
President, if such number be a majority of the whole 
number of electors appointed; and if there be more 
than one who have such majority, and have an equal 
number of votes, then the House of Representatives 
shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for 
President ; and if no person have a majority, then, from 
the five highest on the list, the said House shall in like 
manner choose the President. But in choosing the 
President, the votes shall be taken by States, the repre- 
sentation from each State having one vote ; a quorum 



THE CONSTITUTION. 275 

for this purpose shall consist of a member or members 
from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the 
States shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, 
after the choice of the President, the person having the 
greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the 
Vice-President. But if there should remain two or 
more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose 
from them by ballot the Vice-President.] ^ 

4. The Congress may determine the time of choosing 
the electors, and the day on which they shall give their 
votes, which day shall be the same throughout the 
United States. 

5. No person except a natural-born citizen, or a cit- 
izen of the United States at the time of the adoption of 
this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of Presi- 
dent ; neither shall any person be eligible to that ofBce 
who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five 
years, and been fourteen years a resident within the 
United States. 

6. In case of the removal of the President from of- 
fice, or of his death, resignation, or inability to dis- 
charge the powers and duties of the said office, the 
same shall devolve on the Vice-President ; and the Con- 
gress may by law provide for the case of removal, 
death, resignation, or inability, both of the President 
and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then 
act as President ; and such officer shall act accordingly, 
until the disability be removed or a President shall be 
elected. 

7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for 

1 Altered by the Xllth Amendment. 



276 APPENDIX B. 

his serviceb a compensation, which shall neither be in- 
creased nor diminished during the period for which he 
shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within 
that period anj^ other emolument from the United States, 
or any of them. 

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he 
shall take the following oath or affirmation : — 

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faith- 
fully execute tlie office of President of the United States, 
and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and 
defend the Constitution of the United States^." 

Section II. Powers of the President. 

1. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the 
army and navy of the United States, and of the militia 
of the several States when called into the actual service 
of the United States; he may require the opinion in 
writing of the principal officer in each of the executive 
departments upon any subject relating to the duties of 
their respective offices; and he shall have power to 
grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the 
United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two- 
thirds of the senators present concur; and he shall 
nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public min- 
isters and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all 
other officers of the United States, whose appointments 
are not herein otherwise provided for and which shall 
be established by law ; but the Congress may by law 



THE CONSTITUTION, 217 

vest the appointment of such inferior officers as they 
think proper in the President alone, in the courts of 
law, or in the heads of departments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacan- 
cies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, 
by granting commissions, which shall expire at the end 
of their next session. 

Section HI. Duties of the President. 

He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress 
information of the state of the Union, and recommend 
to their consideration such measures as he shall judge 
necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occa- 
sions, convene both houses, or either of them ; and in 
case of disagreement between them, with respect to the 
time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time 
as he shall think proper ; he shall receive ambassadors 
and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the 
laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the 
officers of the United States. 

Section IV. Impeachment of the President. 

The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers 
of the United States shall be removed from office on 
impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery, 
or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

Abticle III. Judicial Department, 
Section I. United States Courts. 

The judicial power of the United States shall be 
vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts 



278 APPENDIX B. 

as Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. 
The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, 
shall hold their offices during good behavior; and shall, 
at stated times, receive for their services a compensa- 
tion, which shall not be diminished during their contin- 
uance in office. 

Section II. Jurisdietion of the United States Courts. 

1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law 
and equity arising under this Constitution, the laws of 
the United States, and treaties made or which shall be 
made, under their authority ; to all cases affecting am- 
bassadors, other public ministers, and consuls; to all 
cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; to contro- 
versies to which the United States shall be a party ; to 
controversies between two or more States ; between a 
State and citizens of another State ; between citizens of 
different States; between citizens of the same State 
claiming lands under grants of different States ; and be- 
tween a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, 
citizens, or subjects. ^ 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public 
ministers, and consuls, and those in which a State shall 
be party, the Supreme Court shall have original juris- 
diction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the 
Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as 
to law and fact, with such exceptions and under such 
regulations as the Congress shall make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeach- 
ment, shall be by jury ; and such trial shall be held in 

1 Altered by Xlth Amendment. 



THE CONSTITUTION. 279 

the State where the said crimes shall have been com- 
mitted ; but when not committed within any State, the 
trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may 
by law have directed. 

Section III. Treason. 

1. Treason against the United States shall consist 
only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their 
enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall 
be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two 
witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open 
court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the pun- 
ishment of treason; but no attainder of treason shall 
work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except during 
the life of the person attainted. 

Article IV. The States and the Federal Gov- 
ernment. 

Section L State Records. 
Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to 
the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of 
every other State. And the Congress may, by general 
laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, 
and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Section IL Privileges of Citizens^ etc. 

1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all 
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several 
States. 

2. A person charged in any State with treason, fel* 
ony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice and be 



280 APPENDIX B. 

found in another State, shall, on demand of the execu- 
tive authority of the State from which he fled, be deliv- 
ered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction 
of the crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one State, 
under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in 
consequence of any law or regulation therein, be dis- 
charged from such service or labor, but shall be deliv- 
ered up on claim of the party to whom such service or 
labor may be due. 

Section III. New States and Territories. 

1. New States may be admitted by the Congress into 
this Union ; but no new State shall be formed or erected 
within the jurisdiction of any other State ; nor any State 
be formed by the junction of two or more States, or 
parts of States, without the consent of the Legislatures 
of the States concerned, as well as of the Congress. 

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of, and 
make all needful rules and regulations respecting, the 
territory or other property belonging to the United 
States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so 
construed as to prejudice any claims of the United 
States or of any particular State. 

Section IV. Gruarantee to the States. 

The United States shall guarantee to every State in 
this Union a republican form of government, and shall 
protect each of them against invasion ; and, on appli- 
cation of the Legislature, or of the executive (when the 
Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic vio- 
lence. 



THE CONSTITUTION, 281 



Article V. Power of Amendment. 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses 
shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to 
this Constitution, or, on the application of the Legis- 
latures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a 
convention for proposing amendments, which, in either 
case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part 
of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures 
of three-fourths of the several States, or by conventions 
in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode 
of ratification may be proposed by Congress ; provided 
that no amendment which may be made prior to the 
year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any 
manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth 
section of the first Article : and that no State, without 
its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the 
Senate. 

Article VI. Public Debt, Supremacy of the Con- 
stitution, Oath of Office, Religious Test. 

1. All debts contracted and engagements entered 
into before the adoption of this Constitution shall be 
as valid against the United States under this Constitu- 
tion as under the Confederation. 

2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United 
States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and 
all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the 
authority of the United States, shall be the supreme 
law of the land ; and the judges in every State shall be 
bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws 
of any State to the contrary notwitlistanding. 



282 APPENDIX B. 

3. The senators and representatives before men 
tioned, and the members of the several State Legislar 
tures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the 
United States and of the several States, shall be bound 
by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution ; 
but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualifi- 
cation to any office or public trust under the United 
States. 

Article VII. Ratification of the Constitution, 

The ratifications of the Conventions of nine States 
shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Consti- 
tution between the States so ratifying the same. 

Done in Convention, by the unanimous consent of 
the States present, the seventeenth day of September, 
in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred 
and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of th© 
United States of America the twelfth. 



AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

Article I. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establish- 
ment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise there- 
of ; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; 
or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and 
to petition the government for a redress of grievances. 



THE CONSTITUTION, 283 

Article II. 

A well regulated militia being necessary to the se« 
curity of a free state, the right of the people to keep and 
bear arms shall not be infringed. 

Article III. 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in 
any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in 
time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 

Article IV. 

The fight of the people to be secure in their persons, 
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable 
searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no 
warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported 
by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the 
place to be searched, and the persons or things to be 
seized. 

Article V. 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or 
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or 
indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in 
the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in ac- 
tive service in time of war or public danger ; nor shall 
any person be subject for the same offense to be twice 
put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled, 
in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself ; 
nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due 
process of law ; nor shall private property be taken for 
public use without just compensation. 



284 APPENDIX B. 

Article VI. 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy 
the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial 
jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall 
have been committed, which district shall have been 
previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of 
the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be con- 
fronted with the witnesses against him ; to have com- 
pulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, 
and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. 

Article VII. 

In suits at common law, where the value in con- 
troversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial 
by jury shall be preserved; and no fact tried by a jury 
shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the 
United States than according to the rules of the com- 
mon law. 

Article VIII. 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive 
fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment in- 
flicted. 

Article IX. 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights 
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others 
retained by the people. 

Article X. 

The powers not granted to the United States by the 
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are 
reserved to the States respectively or to the people. 



THE CONSTITUTION. 285 

Article XI.^ 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be 
construed to extend to any suit in law oi equity, com- 
menced or prosecuted against one of the United States 
by citizens of another State, or by citizerxS or subjects 
of any foreign State. 

Aeticle XII.2 

1. The electors shall meet in their respective States, 
and vote by ballot for President and A^ice-President, 
one of whom, at least, shall not be an inliabitant of the 
same State with themselves ; they shall name in their 
ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct 
ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they 
shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as 
President, and of all persons voted for as Vice- 
President, and of the number of votes for each, which 
lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to 
the seat of government of the United States, directed 
to the President of the Senate ; the President of the 
Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House 
of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the 
votes shall then be counted ; the person having the 
greatest number of votes for President shall be the 
President, if such number be a majority of the whole 
number of electors appointed; and if no person have 
such majority, then from the persons having the highest 

1 Proposed by Congress March 5, 1794, and declared in force 
January 8, 1798. 

2 Proposed by Congress December 12, 1803, and declared in force 
September 25, 1804. 



286 APPENDIX B. 

numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of those voted 
for as President, the House of Representatives shall 
choose immediately by ballot the President. But in 
choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by 
States, the representation from each State having one 
vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a mem- 
ber or members from two-thirds of the States, and a 
majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. 
And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a 
President, whenever the right of choice shall devolve 
upon them, before the fourth day of March next fol- 
lowing, then the Vice-President shall act as President, 
as in the case of death or other constitutional disability 
of the President. 

2. The person having the greatest number of votes 
as Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of electors 
appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from 
the two highest numbers on the list the Senate shall 
choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose 
shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of sen- 
ators, and a majority of the whole number shall be nec- 
essary to a choice. 

3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the 
office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-Pres- 
dent of the United States. 

Article XHI.^ 

1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except 
as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have 

^ Proposed by Congress February 1, 1865, and declared in force 
December 18,1865. 



THE CONSTITUTION. 287 

been duly convicted, shall exist within the United 
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article 
by appropriate legislation. 

Article XIV.^ 

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United 
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citi- 
zens of the United States and of the State wherein they 
reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which 
shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of 
the United States ; nor shall any State deprive any per- 
son of life, liberty, or property, without due process of 
law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the 
equal protection of the laws. 

2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the 
several States according to their respective numbers, 
counting the whole number of persons in each State, 
excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to 
vote at any election for the choice of electors for Presi- 
dent and Vice-President of the United States, represen- 
tatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers 
of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, 
is denied to any of the male members of such State, 
being twentj^-one years of age, and citizens of the United 
States, or in any way abridged, except for participation 
in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation 
therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the 
number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole 

1 Proposed by Congress June 16, 1866, and declared in force July 
28, 1868. 



288 APPENDIX B. 

number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such 
State. 

3. No person shall be a senator or representative in 
Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or 
hold any office, civil or military, under the United 
States, or under any State, who, having previously 
taken an oath, as a meaiber of Congress, or as an offi- 
cer of the United States, or as a member of any State 
Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any 
State, to support the Constitution of the United States, 
shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against 
the same, or given aid and comfort to the enemies 
thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of 
each House, remove such disability. 

4. The validity of the public debt of the United 
States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for 
payment of pensions and bounties for services in sup- 
pressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be ques- 
tioned. But neither the United States nor any State 
shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in 
aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, 
or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave ; 
but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held 
illegal and void. 

5. The Congress shall have power to enforce by ap- 
propriate legislation the provisions of this article. 

Article XV.^ 

!• The right of citizens of the United States to 
vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United 

^Proposed by Congress February 26, 1869, and declared in forc3 
March 30. 1870. 



THE CONSTITUTION. 289 

States or any State on account of race, color, or previ- 
ous condition of servitude. 

2. The Congress shall have power to enforce by ap- 
propriate legislation the provisions of this article. 



INDEX. 



IITDEX. 



[The Numbers refer to Pages.] 



Agriculture, Department of, 124. 

Alabama Case, The, 143. 

Aliens, Naturalization of, 226. 

Amendments, to Federal Constitu- 
tion, first ten, 199; Prohibitory, 
207. 

Appeals, 118, 128. 

Arbitration, 106. 

Army of United States, 163. 

Articles of Confederation, 38, 141. 

Attainder, Bills of, 218. 

Attorney General of the States, 
109; of the United States, 173. 

Australian System. See Election. 

Bacon's Rebellion, 24. 

Bail, 115. 

Bank, of North America, 154; of 
the United States, 154; State, 155; 
National, 156, 231; Postal Sav- 
ings, 163. 

Battle, Trial by, 75. 

Bill of Rights, The, 30, 31, 41. 

Bonds, Why not taxed, 73 ; United 
States, 156,157. 

Borough, The, 3, 9. 

Bribery, 206. 

Burgesses, House of, 22. 

Cabinet, English, 44 ; United States, 

132. 
Canals, 63. 



Cases at law, civil, 113, 118 ; crimi- 
nal, 113-118; in state courts, 126. 
in federal courts, 126-129. 

Caucus, The Congressional, 191, 238; 
The state, 239. 

Census, 168. 

Certificates, Gold and silver, 153, 

Charters, 9, 21, 25, 27, 31, 32, 33, 102, 
103. 

Checks, Constitutional, 194. 

Church, Relations of to local gov- 
ernment, 3, 10, 11, 12, 50. 

Cities, Constitution of, 47; Govern- 
ment of, 78-81. 

''Civil Officers," meaning of term, 
216. 

Coins, Gold, 151; Silver, 151, 152; 
Minor, 152. 

Colonies, Proprietary, 25, 28 ; Char- 
ter, 25, 28; Royal, 28; Voluntary, 
26. 

Commission, The Interstate Com- 
merce, 176. 

Commissioners, United States, 109; 
State officers as, 110. 

Committees, Legislation by, 185 ; of 
the Senate, 188. 

Common law, 91. 

Congress, Colonial, 37 ; Continental, 
37 ; Sessions of, 183 ; Business of, 
185-190. 

Constable, 99. 

Constitution, the United States, 
293 



294 



INDEX. 



Origin of, 36-40, 46 ; changed by 
Custom, 131 ; The English, 40-45 
Definition of, 193; State, 30-36 
Origin of, in Connecticut, 45, 46 
Exposition of, 193-233. 

Consular se?:vice, 142. 

Convention, The Constitutional, 33, 
38, 202; The Albany, 36; The 
party, 239. 

Copyrights, 228. 

Coroner, 100. 

" Corruption of Blood," 219. 

Counterfeiting punishable by two 
authorities, 127, 228. 

County, Government of, in the colo- 
nies, 13-19; Judicial business in, 
90. 

County clerk, 107. 

Court, of Hundred, 4, 6; County, 5, 
6, 16; Quarter Sessions, 8, 14-19, 
93, 102; Colonial, 102-104; State, 
104-109; Federal, 109-113; Kela- 
tion of to Constitution, 196. 

Customs, 145. 

Diplomatic service, 141. 

District, School, 151 ; Congressional, 

182. 
Dorr's Rebellion, 164. 
Duelling, 205. 

Education, 50-60; Federal support 
of, 57, 58. 

Election, State and local, 82, 83; of 
President and Vice-President, 84, 
130; Australian system of, 86; 
Constitutional provisions respect- 
ing, 87; of judges, 104. 

Electors, Presidential, 130; Mean- 
ing of term, 213. 

Embargo Act, 223. 

Engraving and Printing, Bureau of, 
158. 

Equity, Courts of, 105. 



Executive, State and federal, com- 
pared, 47 ; numbers employed in, 
176; restricted by Constitution, 
200. 

Ex post facto laws, 218. 

Federal principle, The, 233. 

Financiering, 178. 

*' Four Best Men " in township, 2. 

Government, Early English, 1-8; 
Colonial, 13-19; Three depart- 
ments of, 34, 38, 103. 

*' Grand Model," The, 32. 

Habeas Corpus, 111. 

Habeas Corpus Act, 31, 41. 

Highways, 60-63. 

House of Commons, 7, 20, 43, 44. 

House of Lords, 7, 20, 43. 

House of Representatives, Officers 
of, 184. 

''Hue and Cry," 92. 

Hundred, The, 4, 8, 9; judicial busi- 
ness in the, 90. 

Illinois, Constitution of, 202. 
Impeachment, of President Johnson, 

133, 189; of other officers, 190; of 

Congressmen, 217. 
Ihdian trade, 225. 
Indictment, 115. 
Injunction, 119. 
Insane, 66. 
Interior Department, 168. 

Judiciary, English, 45; of Massa- 
chusetts, 103; restricted by Con- 
stitution, 200. 

Jury, 8; Origin of, 94-99; Empan- 
elling of, 116; Grand, 14, 15, 97. 

Justice of the peace, 4, 8, 14, 17, 
102; Origin of, 92. 



INDEX. 



295 



Kings, Origin of in England, 5. 
King's Council, 6, 19, 102. 

Land, Government surveys of, 169. 

Laws, Constitutional and statute, 
201-211 ; Bankrupt, 227. 

Legal tender, 148, 149, 152, 153. 

Legislatures, Business of, 177; Re- 
lation of to the Constitution, 180, 
197, 200. 

Letters of marque and reprisal, 217. 

Liquor traffic, in state constitu- 
tions, 208; in original jDackages, 
225. 

Lobby, 190. 

Local government, 8; Three sys- 
tems of, 18. 

Local option, 179. 

Lotteries, 205. 

Macadamized roads, 61. 
Magna Charta, 30, 41, 92, 101. 
Mail matter. Classes of, 161. 
Mandamus, 119, 122. 
Manor, The, 2, 9. 
Marshal, 101. 
Memphis Case, The, 121. 
Ministers, Choice of, in England, 42. 
Missouri Compromise, The, 208. 
Money, Origin of, 147 ; Coinage of, 

147, 148; of the colonies, 148; of 

the Revolution, 148. 
Museum, National, 170. 

Navy, of the United States, 163. 

Ordeal, Trial by, 95. 

Parish, in England, 3; in America, 
9, 10, 16. 

Parliament, English, Origin of, 6; 
Contest of, with king, 8 ; *' Little," 
23, 24. 

Parties, in Congress, 191 ; in a mon- 
archy, 235; in English Parliament, 



191 ; National, 236 ; Principles of, 

248; Issues of, 249; Names of, 249. 
Patents, 228. 

Pauperism, Efforts to limit, 64. 
Pennsylvania, Constitution of, 202. 
People, the source of authority, 195. 
Petition of Right, The, 30, 41. 
Platform, The party, 240. 
Police power, 229. 
Poor, Care of, 64, 66. 
Postal savings banks, 163. 
Postmasters, Salaries of, 161. 
Postmaster-General, Franklin as, 

160; a member of the Cabinet, 

160. 
Post-Office Department, 158-163 ; 

Origin of, 158-160. 
Post-Offices, number of in United 

States, 161; subject to Congress, 

228. 
Postal roads, 228. 
Powers, Federal and state, 222-233; 

of taxation, 222 ; over commerce, 

223 ; Military, 230; Grants of, 230 ; 

Implied, 230; Assumed, 232. 
President, of the United States, 

Election of, 84, 130 ; his successor, 

131. 
Presidentpro tempore, of the Senate, 

184. 
Primary, The, 241; Corruption of 

the, 244; Reform of the, 246. 
Privileges of Congressmen, 215. 
Probate business, 113. 
Prosecuting attorney, 108. 

Quarter Sessions. See Court. 

Railroads, 63 ; in state constitutions, 
203. 

Record, Courts of, 106. 

Reeve, 5, 99. 

Representatives, Number of in Con- 
gress, 181 ; from territories, 182. 



296 



INDEX. 



Repudiation, 123; in Virginia, 124. 
Revenue, Internal, 144 ; bills, 187. 
Roads. See Highways. 
Road taxes, 62. 

Salary, of postmasters, 161; of 
Congressmen, 215. 

Schools, Origin of, 50; Superintend- 
ents of, 55, 56. 

School district, Diagram of, 51, 52 ; 
Government of, 53, 54. 

Secretary of State, 141. 

Senate, The, 22; Officers of the, 
184. 

Senators, Classification of, 212. 

Sheriff, 5, 14, 100. 

Shire, Origin of the, 5. 

Signal service, 165. 

Silences of the Constitution, 120-122. 

Slavery, in the South, 17; in state 
constitutions, 207 ; in the Federal 
Constitution, 212. 

Smithsonian Institution, The, 114. 

Speaker, of the House, 184; Com- 
mittees appointed by, 185. 

*' Spoils System,'* The, 134-138. 

Standard of value, 149. 

States, Origin of the, 19-29; new, 
35 ; sued, 122. 

Tariff, Protective, 76. 
Taxation, State, 68-74 ; Federal, 74- 
78. 



'* Third Parties,'' 247. 

Toll roads, 61. 

Town, The New England, 1 (note), 

10; Officers of the, 12, 13; Gov- 

ernment of the, 78-81. 
Town-meeting, The ancient, 2 ; The 

New England, 12. 
Township, 1; The New York type 

of, 15 ; The Pennsylvania type of p 

16 ; Judicial business in the, 90. 
Treasury Department, 144; notes, 

157. 
Treaties, 139, 140 ; States forbidden 

to make, 141. 
Tun-scipe, 2. 

United States, Suits against the, 
125 ; The, a nation, 219. 

Vacancies, how filled, 214. 

Verdict, 117. 

Veto power, in England, 41 ; of the 

President, 189, 194; in New York, 

194. 

Warrant, 114. 

Weights and measures, 227. 

West Virginia, Constitution of, 196. 

Whig party, 248. 

Whiskey Rebellion, 164. 

Yeas and nays, 114, 



A BRIEF ANALYSIS 



CONSTITUTION 



THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



(A Supplement to Macy's " Our Government ") 



BOSTON, U.S.A. 
GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHEES 

1891 



Copyright, 1891, 
By GINN & COMPANY. 



All Rights Reserved. 



Typography by J. S. Gushing & Co., Boston, U.S.A. 



Presswork by Ginn & Co., Boston, U.S.A. 



COFSTITUTIOlSr 



OF 



THE STATE OF I^EW TOEK. 
CHAPTER I. 

THE CONSTITUTION^. 

The Constitution of the State of New York, recogniz- 
ing the truth that no goyernment is good which does not 
protect all its citizens in the exercise of all thair rights, 
starts with an enumeration of certain Individual 
Rights. Among the most important of these are : the 
right to enjoy all privileges of citizenship, unless de- 
prived of them by due process of law; to have, if accused, 
a trial by jury ; freely to exercise and enjoy religious 
worship ; to demand the privilege of the writ of habeas 
corpus^ by means of which an accused person may get a 
speedy trial; to be protected against giving excessive 
bail and against cruel or unusual punishment ; freely to 
"speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects." 
This First Article of the Constitution names many other 
rights, but they do not so closely touch the daily life of 
the citizen that they need be set down here. 

The Second Article of the Constitution relates to the 
rights of VoTEKS. A voter must be a male citizen, at 



4 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

least twenty-one years of age, an inhabitant of the State 
for one year preceding election, of the county for four 
months, of the election district for thirty days. Bribery 
is forbidden; and persons convicted of it, or of any infa- 
mous crime, may be excluded from suffrage. 

This Constitution, like every other in a true republican 
form of government, divides all State power into three 
parts, — the legislative, the executive, the judicial. The 
Third Article treats of The Legislative Powder. That 
power w^e find to be vested in a Senate and Assembly. 
The Senate has 32 members, chosen for two years; the 
Assembly, 128, chosen annually. Both senators and as- 
semblymen are elected by the people. Their salary is 
the same, — one thousand five hundred dollars per annum^ 
plus one dollar for every ten miles travelled in going and 
returning, once in each session, to and from their homes. 

No senator or member of Assembly can hold any other 
office of profit or trust under city. State, or national gov- 
ernment; if elected or appointed, he must, if he accepts 
the second office, vacate the first. 

Over the Senate the lieutenant-governor presides ; in 
his absence, or when acting as governor, the Senate is 
presided over by a temporary president. In the As- 
sembly, a speaker, chosen from the assemblymen, is the 
presiding officer. 

A majority of each house constitutes a quorum to do 
business. A journal of proceedings is kept and pub- 
lished : the discussions are open to the public. 

To the end that members may be free to say what they 
think proper, they cannot be questioned, in any other 
place, for speeches or debates uttered in either house of 
the legislature. 



THE CONSTITUTION. 5 

The enacting clause of every bill is to be, "The People 
of the State of New York represented m Senate and As- 
sembly^ do enact as follows .^^"^ 

Very interesting, but too long to be reproduced here, 
is the list of cases where the legislature is prohibited 
from passing private and local bills. 

Such is a brief sketch of the power which makes our 
State laws — a power delegated to the legislature by the 
people, to whom in turn the legislature is responsible for 
the proper exercise of that power. 

Just here we shall be aided in our analysis of the 
Fourth and Fifth Articles by a brief table, showing what 
the Executive Power is, — whether its officers are 
elected or appointed, the length of their terms of office, 
respectively, and their respective salaries. 

Governor Elected 

Lieutenant-Governor " 

Secretary of State " 

Comptroller " 

Treasurer " 

Attorney-General " 

State Engineer and Surveyor " 

Superintendent of Public Works Appointed 

Superintendent of State Prisons " . . 

Then, too, there are other State offices, executive in 
character, which are not named in the Constitution, but 
which have been created by law. For the Constitution, 
together with the laws passed in pursuance thereof, make 
up the supreme law of the State, just as the Federal Con- 
stitution and its laws constitute the supreme law of the 
Union. In this law-created list we find the following: 



Per annum. 


3 years . . . $10,000 


3 " ... 


5,000 


2 " ... 


5,000 


2 " ... 


6,000 


2 " ... 


5,000 


2 '' 


5,000 


2 " 


5,000 


Holdins: office as 
long as g:overnor 
who appoints him. 


1 6,000 


5 years . . . 


6,000 



6 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

Per annum. 
Superintendent of Public Instruction j leg^i^iature. \ ^ years . , $5,000 
Superintendent of Banking . . . Appointed . . 3 "... 5,000 
Superintendent of Insurance ... " . . 3 " . . . 7,000 

State Assessors (3) " . . 3 " each 2,500 

Board of Railroad Commissioners (3) " . . 5 '' " 8,000 

Board of Claims (3) " . . 6 " " 5,000 

Civil Service Commissioners (3). " (No time named)" 2,000 

Labor Commissioner " . . 3 years . . 3,000 

State Dairy Commissioner .... " . . 2 " . . 3,000 

State Board of Arbitration and } ,, ^ ., i « r./^^ 

Mediation (3) { ''^ each 3,000 

Again, there is a provision in the Constitution by 
which the Lieutenant-Governor, Speaker of the Assem- 
bly, Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney- 
General and State Engineer-Surveyor constitute the 
Commissioners of the Land Office. 

The Sixth Article of the Constitution relates to the 
Judiciary — that is, the law-interpreting power ; and 
the first section of this article shows by what legal proc- 
ess a State officer may be impeached. An officer thus 
impeached is to be removed from office and debarred 
from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit under 
the State, and he is also liable to indictment or punish- 
ment according to law. 

The regular courts of the State are so many, their 
make-up so different one from another, their jurisdic- 
tion, tenure of office, etc., so varied, that we must have 
recourse again to a brief tabular statement. 

Per annum, 
1 Chief-Justice Elected 14 ye^rs . . . $10,500 
.6 Judges '' '' " each 10,000 

Supreme Court .... 46 Justices " '' '' each 6,000 

County Court . . . 1 for each county " 6 '' Salary fixed by law. 

Justice's Court ... Number by law " 4 '' " " " " 



Court of Appeals -] 



THE CONSTITUTION. 7 

Besides the above, and named in the Constitution 
with the Supreme Court, there is a Superior Court, with 
six judges, for New York City, and a court for Buffalo ; 
a Court of Common Pleas, six judges, for the city and 
county of New York, and a City Court for Brooklyn. 
The law determines the number of judges for the Buffalo 
and Brooklyn courts — as also the salaries of all the 
judges. The legislature may also establish inferior local 
courts having civil and criminal jurisdiction. 

Article VII. of the Constitution is interesting because 
it makes its way into the pocket-book of the citizen ; in 
other words, debts of the State and taxes imposed by 
the State form the burden of this article. Several sec- 
tions of this article relate to the canals. They are the 
property of the State, are managed by it, taxes are im- 
posed by it annually for superintendence, repairs, and 
payment of the interest upon the "canal debt." No 
tolls are, or can be, imposed by the State on persons or 
property transported by the State. Certain canals, 
specifically named, cannot be leased or sold. 

This article also provides that the State shall not re- 
lease or compromise any debts due to it from loans made 
to incorporated companies. Moreover, the legislature 
shall, by just taxation, increase in certain cases, the rev- 
enues of the sinking fund, — a fund which must be 
separately kept and safely invested. Besides the canals, 
the State owns certain salt springs which it can never 
sell or dispose of. 

No money can be paid out of the treasury of the 
State without due appropriation by law; the credit of 
the State cannot be loaned to any individual, associa- 
tion, or incorporation ; the power of the State to contract 



8 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

debts is limited, and must not, at any time, exceed one 
million dollars — and said debt can be contracted only 
for meeting any casual deficit or failures in revenues. 

This wise provision is added: ''The State may con- 
tract a special debt, if invasion, insurrection, or a state 
of war requires it; but money thus raised cannot be 
used for any other purpose than war-payments." 

The last section of this article shows that claims 
against the State are barred out after a certain lapse of 
time; and it puts a limitation upon the payment of 
claims existing at the adoption of the Constitution. 

Article VIII. of the Constitution defines the term 
" corporations," tells how they may be created, and how 
the dues from such corporations may be secured to 
creditors. By this article the charters of all savings 
banks and institutions are made to conform to one gen- 
eral law regulating their rights and liabilities. (Take 
note just here how needful such a provision is, to the 
end that all "special legislation " in behalf of any indi- 
vidual institution may be avoided.) 

Then follow certain wise provisions requiring the 
maintenance of specie payments, the registration of 
bills or notes issued under authority of the State, 
the individual responsibility of stockholders in banks, 
the preference to be given to bill-holders in case of a 
bank's insolvency. 

As the State is supreme over village and city, we 
here find, put into the hands of the legislature, the 
power to incorporate cities and villages and to define 
their powers. We find, too, that counties, cities, towns, 
and villages may not give their money or property or 
loan their money or credit in aid of any individual, asso- 



THE CONSTITUTION. 9 

elation, or corporation whatsoever ; and we find it added, 
most wisely, that no county, city, town, or village debt 
can be created except for county, city, town, or village 
purposes : moreover, the amount of such indebtedness 
is limited to a certain fixed per cent of the assessed val- 
uation of their real estate. 

Article IX. is so clear and concise in its statement of 
the responsibility of the State to its public schools that 
we here quote the article entire : "• The capital of the 
common-school fund, the capital of the literature fund, 
and the capital of the United States deposit fund, shall 
be respectively preserved inviolate. The revenue of the 
said common-school fund shall be applied to the support 
of common schools ; the revenue of the said literature 
fund shall be applied to the support of academies ; and 
the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars of the revenues 
of th^ United States deposit fund shall each year be 
appropriated to and made part of the capital of the said 
common-school fund." 

The Tenth Article, after stating that sheriffs, clerks 
of counties, coroners, and district attorneys shall be 
chosen by the people of their respective counties once in 
every three years, and may be removed by the governor 
of the State, for cause, goes on to state the manner in 
which all county officers not named in the Constitution, 
as well as all city, town, or village officers, may be 
elected, and leaves it to the legislature to direct how 
all other unnamed officers shall be elected or appointed. 
Duration of office and the times of election are to be 
prescribed by law; the legislature shall provide for 
filling vacancies in office ; the political year and legisla- 
tive term begin the first day of January, and the legis- 



10 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YOEK. 

lature must assemble on the first Tuesday in January. 
Provision is to be made by law for the removal of un- 
faithful officers — except judicial — and for the supply- 
ing of the vacancies made by such removal. When the 
Constitution is silent as to what makes a vacancy in 
office, the legislature may declare it. 

The last section of this article forbids any salaried 
officer to receive any additional compensation, — no 
'' fees," no " perquisites of office." 

The Constitution of the United States tells us that 
"the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not 
be infringed" ; and so important does it deem this right 
that it gives us the reason in which that right is 
grounded, viz. : A well-regulated militia being necessary 
to the security of a free state. And so the Eleventh 
Article of the State Constitution, recognizing the logic 
and truth of the statement, makes provision for a State 
militia, — details the manner of choosing or appointing 
the various officers, and leaves it to the legislature to 
abolish such elections and appointments if not found 
conducive to the improvement of the militia. 

In Article XII. is given the oath of office to be taken 
by the members of the legislature and the various other 
officers, as follows : " I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that 
I will support the Constitution of the United States, and 
the Constitution of the State of New York, and that I 
will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of , 

to the best of my ability." Oath must also be made 
that the officer has not paid nor promised to pay anything 
for the casting of any vote in his favor. 

Article XIII. treats of the way in which amendments 
may be made to the Constitution — in substance as fol- 



THE CONSTITUTION. 11 

lows : If the proposed amendment or amendments shall 
be accepted by a majority of Senate and Assembly, they 
shall then be referred to the legislature chosen at the 
next general election of senators, and if voted by the 
legislature so chosen, that legislature shall submit such 
amendment or amendments to the people, whose major- 
ity vote shall ratify the same. 

During each twentieth year after 1866 the people are 
to say by their votes whether they wish a convention 
called to revise the Constitution. If so, the legislature 
must provide, at its next session, for the election of dele- 
gates to such convention. 

The Fourteenth Article enumerates the things neces- 
sary to put the Constitution in good working order, — 
such as stating when the term of office of the first sena- 
tors and assemblymen, chosen with this Constitution of 
1847, shall expire — regulating the first selection of gov- 
ernor and lieutenant-governor — abolishing certain offi- 
ces, etc., etc. ; and it ends by declaring this Constitution 
to be in force from and including the first day of Janu- 
ary, one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven. 

In Article XV. of the Constitution any officer accept- 
ing any bribe is pronounced guilty of a felony; and 
any person offering a bribe to an officer is deemed guilty, 
and is liable to punishment. Any person charged with 
receiving, offering, or promising a bribe may testify in 
his own behalf. Any district-attorney, says the last 
section — the fourth — of this article, who fails to do 
his official duty may be removed by the governor, 
and the expenses of prosecution must be borne by the 
State. 

The Constitution ends with Article XVI., which 



12 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YOBK. 

simply declares that all amendments are to go into 
effect on the first day of January next succeeding their 
adoption. 



CHAPTER 11. 

DUTIES OF OFFICEKS. 

We have mentioned the officers named in the Consti- 
tution, their terms of office and salaries, respectively. 
Let us now glance briefly at some of the chief duties 
required of them, and also, of certain law-created offi- 
cers. 

The Governor is the executive head of the State. As 
such, it is his duty to see that the laws of the Common- 
wealth are faithfully executed. He is the commander- 
in-chief of the military forces of the State. He is a 
regent of the University, a trustee of public buildings, 
of the Soldiers' Home, of Union College (or University), 
Cornell University, Syracuse University, and of the Idiot 
Asylum. He has power to reprieve, to commute sen- 
tence, to pardon. He may convene the legislature, or 
Senate only, in special session. By and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, he may appoint certain offi- 
cers ; fill temporarily vacancies happening during recess 
of the Senate ; and has power to remove officers, for 
cause, according to certain prescribed forms of law. 
Perhaps his greatest power is that of veto, by which 
he may prevent any bill which has passed the legisla- 
ture from becoming a law — unless, indeed, the two 
houses pass the bill again by a two-thirds vote over his 
veto. This rarely happens. 



DUTIES OF OFFICERS. 13 

The Lieutenant-Governor is the presiding officer of 
the Senate, but is not a member of tliat body, and has 
no vote except a '-' casting vote " in case of a tie. He 
is a member of various State boards and State institu- 
tions ; and in case the governor is unable, for any rea- 
son, to discharge the duties of the State executive, they 
fall upon the lieutenant-governor. 

The Secretary of State keeps, in the twofold sense 
of recording and preserving, the public documents of, 
the executive and legislative branches of the govern- 
ment. He has many duties in connection with various 
departments of the Commonwealth, but his most impor- 
tant task is to certify to the correctness of the laws, 
and to attend to their publication and distribution. 

The Comptroller is the financial manager, so to 
speak, of the State, receiving its taxes, negotiating its 
loans, taking care of its funds, and looking after its 
current expenses. It is upon his warrant that 

The Treasurer, the custodian of the State's money, 
may pay it out. He, the treasurer, may thus be called 
the paying teller of the State government. 

The Attorney- General is set for the prosecution or 
defence of all suits at law to which the State is a party. 
He must take note of all cases brought before the State 
Board of Claims. He is the legal adviser of State 
officials and of the legislature, and as such is often 
called upon to give a legal opinion on controverted or 
doubtful points. 

The State Engineer and Surveyor must, by law, 
have practical knowledge of engineering matters, so that 
he may intelligently superintend all needful work in 
connection with the canals and public lands of the State. 



14 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

By an amendment to the Constitution adopted in 
1876, a Superintendent of Public Works was ap- 
pointed, superseding the office of canal commissioner. 
And his main duty is to take charge, in all matters not 
specially entrusted to the State engineer and surveyor, 
of the repair, navigation, construction, and improve- 
ment of the canals. 

The Superintendent of State Prisons. — This officer 
has in charge the prisons, and appoints the agents, 
wardens, physicians, and chaplains thereof. The office 
is a difficult one to fill, from the fact that it is desirable 
that the convicts be so employed as not to be a finan- 
cial charge upon the State, and yet not so employed as 
to take away work from honest men outside prison 
walls. 

Turning now from the officers named by the Consti- 
tution to those created by law, Ave notice, first, that of 
the Superintendent of Public Instruction. He is the 
State's schoolmaster, whose duty it is to see that the 
youth of the State have opportunity given them for 
such education as will help to make them better citizens 
of the State. He apportions and distributes the public 
school money ; controls teachers' institutes, and the nor- 
mal schools of the State ; makes rules and regulations 
concerning district school libraries ; has charge of the 
Indian schools of the State ; is a trustee of many institu- 
tions ; and perhaps most important of all, decides the 
numberless disputes which arise over school matters, 
and his decision is final. 

The Superintendent of the Banking Department 
has general charge of all State banks, and they must 
report to him quarterly. To him also savings banks 



DUTIES OF OFFICERS. 15 

report, and since 1874, semi-annually, trust companies 
and other moneyed corporations. These reports are in 
turn submitted by him to the legislature. 

All insurance companies doing business in New York 
State must report to the State Superintendent of In- 
surance, who is empowered by law to wind up the 
affairs of unsound companies. The curious thing about 
this department is, that all its expenses are paid out of 
fees collected from the various insurance companies. 

The State Assessors, together with the Commis- 
sioners of the Land Office, form a State Board of Equal- 
ization, charged with the duty of equalizing the State 
tax among the several counties of the State. As as- 
sessors, they make an estimate, for taxation purposes, 
of real and personal property throughout the State. 

The Board of Railroad Commissioners is charged 
with the very important duty of looking after, and 
providing for, the security and safety of travellers by 
rail; must investigate all accidents resulting in loss of 
life or serious injury to persons ; and must see to it 
that all railroad corporations keep within the bounds 
of their charters and are obedient to the laws of the 
State. 

The Commissioners of Claims take the place of the 
former Canal Appraisers and of the State Board of 
Audit. They may hear, audit, and determine all private 
claims against the State, — claims not more than two 
years old, — unless such claims are barred out by some 
statute ; and it is their duty to allow all fair indemnity 
to citizens whose claims against the State may be 
proven. 

The New York Civil Service Commission is the title 



16 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

of that board whose duty it is " to aid the governor in 
preparing rules governing admission into the civil ser- 
vice of tlie State, to make regulations for, and to control, 
examinations of applicants, to approve the regulations 
adopted by mayors of cities, and to make annual reports 
to the governor." It is a very important commission; 
and altliough in existence but eight years, as yet, it has 
done much towards putting the civil service of the State 
upon a higher and purer plane. 

One commissioner represents the State Bureau of 
Statistics of Labor. Upon him falls the very impor- 
tant duty of collecting and collating statistical details 
relating to the various departments of labor throughout 
the State. These statistics he must report annually to 
the legislature, that it may thus be better prepared to 
pass laws for the true interest and welfare of labor and 
laborers in the great Empire State. 

Under the laws of 1884 a State Dairy Commissioner 
w^as appointed. He is expected to see that all dairy 
products of the State are what they are represented, so 
that no fraud, deception, or adulteration be practised ; 
an important task, for the general health of the Common- 
wealth may be promoted or impaired according as its 
food products are pure or the reverse. 

The State Arbitrators, who together constitute the 
State Board of Mediation and Arbitration, meet from 
time to time to hear and consider appeals from the decis- 
ion of local boards of labor organizations. Upon these 
arbitrators, also, is put the grave duty of averting strikes 
and lock-outs, if possible, and, if not, of settling such 
troubles peacefully and satisfactorily. 

In addition to the specific duties of the seven State 



DUTIES OF OFFICERS. 17 

officers named in the Constitution and elected by the 
people, — viz. : (1) governor, (2) lieutenant-governor, 
(3) secretary of state, (4) comptroller, (5) treasurer, 
(6) attorney-general, (7) state engineer and surveyor, 
— they have general duties as members of several State 
boards, and other bodies. Thus, Nos. 2, 8, 4, 5, and 
6 are Commissioners of the Canal Fund; and the same 
numbers, together with the superintendent of public 
works, make up the Canal Board; the same five, together 
with No. 7, the speaker of the Assembly, and the three 
State assessors, compose the State Board of Equalization 
of Assessments. Nos. 1 and 2, with the speaker of the 
Assembly, are the Trustees of Public Buildings. The 
Commissioners of the Land Office are Nos. 1-6 and 
the speaker of the Assembly. 

In several cases State officers are, ex officio^ members 
of still other boards. Thus, Nos. 2, 8, 4, and 6, with 
eleven commissioners — two of whom are women — 
appointed by the governor and Senate, form the State 
Board of Charities. And Nos. 1 and 6, ex officio^ together 
with nine citizens, make up the Board of Trustees of 
the New York State Soldiers and Sailors' Home. The 
two boards just named are doing such splendid work for 
humanity and for patriotism, within the limits of this 
great Commonwealth, as to deserve special mention 
among the beneficent agencies of the State. 

The State of New York is fortunate in having many 
worthy and patriotic citizens, who are glad to serve her 
without pay. 

Noteworthy among these is the Board of Regents of 
the University of the State of New York. In 1884 it 
celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of its incor- 



18 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YOBK. 

poration by the legislature. Its members, save the 
ex-officio ones (governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary 
of state, and superintendent of public instruction), are 
nineteen, chosen by the legislature and holding office 
during life. There is not space here to set down all 
their duties, nor is it needful to do so for the rising 
generation ; for the Regents have appointed a day, each 
year, on which the formation and mission of the Regents 
are to be explained to them. Let it suffice here, then, 
to say that the Board of Regents has to do with the 
incorporation of colleges and academies, the supervision 
of the instruction imparted therein, and the holding of 
examinations in very many branches of study, chiefly of 
the higher sort: upon the results of these examinations 
is based the distribution of what is known as the Liter- 
ature Fund. 

Not alone to education, but to many other departments 
of good government, is the time of citizens freely given. 
In the long list belong the Commissioners of Health, 
taking thought for the life and health of their fellow- 
citizens ; the Forest Commissioners, seeking to protect 
our noble forests from wanton or wasteful destruction ; 
the State Board of Pharmacy, aiming to prevent un- 
trained and ignorant persons from dispensing drugs and 
compounding prescriptions; the Commissioners of the 
State Reservation at Niagara, watchful over a unique 
work of nature; the Commissioners of State Survey, 
making clear the metes and bounds of the State's 
domain; the Board of Control of the State Agricultural 
Experiment Station, an aid to wise and scientific methods 
of farming; the Commissioners of Fisheries, seeing to 
the proper protection and propagation of fish, by means 



DUTIES OF OFFICERS. 19 

of certain restrictions put upon the catching of them — 
especially by seines and nets — and by the establishment 
of fish-hatcheries, and all to the end that there may 
always be in the streams, lakes, and rivers of the State 
an abundant supply of fish for food. Fifteen "game 
and fish protectors" help in the enforcement of the laws. 
A special paragraph should be given here to various 
charitable institutions, an outgrowth of the philan- 
thropic spirit of the Commonwealth. Thus, there are 
eight asylums for the insane, in which that unfortu- 
nate class receives the best medical and sanitary treat- 
ment known to modern science. And the State also 
provides, in addition to a superintendent for each insti- 
tution, a Commissioner in Lunacy, at a salary of four 
thousand dollars a year, for the express purpose of 
looking into, and reporting upon, the condition of the 
various asylums, and of compelling the abolition of all 
abuses, cruelty, or mismanagement. There are two. 
State institutions for the blind; there are seven for the 
deaf-and-dumb. The New York State Reformatory at 
Elmira has done, and is still doing, excellent work in 
the reclamation and man-making of incorrigible and 
vicious youth. Very important, too, in a view of the 
State as philanthropist, are the three houses of refuge 
to which the friendless and unfortunate may repair. At 
the port of New York, three quarantine commissioners, 
appointed by the governor and Senate for a term of three 
years, at an annual salary each of twenty-five hundred 
dollars, are on the watch to prevent the incoming, 
from foreign lands, of all contagious and plague- 
bearing diseases. Their executive officer, whose duty 
it is to isolate and treat the sick, is called the health 



20 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

officer of the port of New York. The Commission- 
ers of Emigration, nine in number, — all of whom are 
citizens of New York City, among them the Mayor of 
New York, the President of the German Emigrant Soci- 
ety, and the President of the Irish Emigrant Society, 
— are entrusted with the duty of helping in every pos- 
sible way — by information, advice, etc. — the thou- 
sands of strangers who annually come, through the 
gateway of New York, to settle in the United States. 
They have an important part to perform, also, in keep- 
ing out from our borders the improvident, criminal, 
and pauper elements drifting over from European and 
even Asiatic shores. Nor ought it to be overlooked 
under this head of the State as philanthropist, that it 
provides a State agent for discharged convicts, to aid 
such in efforts to regain lapsed citizenship and recover 
lost respectability; that the State also provides a fac- 
tory inspector, especially to see that young children are 
not subjected by their employers to an undue strain of 
labor, and are not debarred from such measure of educa- 
tion as the State believes to be essential to good citi- 
zenship. 

Again, to the end that the State may have a trained 
militia, serviceable to protect itself in case of sudden 
need, a military bureau has been organized at Albany. 

Its chief officers, whose duty it is to concert measures 
for the highest efficiency of the militia service, are the 
Adjutant-General, Inspector-General, Chief of Ord- 
nance, Paymaster-General, and Inspector of Rifle Prac- 
tice. 

Let us make our list of State officers more complete 
by adding — a Superintendent of the Onondaga Salt 



DUTIES OF OFFICEBS. 21 

Springs, a Commissioner of the State Meteorological 
Bureau, a Superintendent of Weights and Measures, 
a Superintendent of Public Buildings, Port Wardens, 
Special Port Warden, Commissioner of the New Capi- 
tol, and Inspector of Gas-Meters. 

Thus from governor to inspector of gas-meters, how 
vast and varied is the executive power of the State! 
Note, too, that all this complex civil machinery is 
put in motion by the action of the legislature, the 
law-making body, supplemented by the courts as the 
law-interpreting force. 

A word, now, as to the making of laws. A bill in- 
troduced into either branch of the legislature becomes 
a law only when it receives the concurrence of the two 
houses and the consent of the governor. If, however, 
the houses concur, but the governor dissents, he may 
express his objections by a veto, in which case the bill 
fails to become a law, unless the two houses by a two- 
thirds vote override the governor's protest. 

And a word as to the Courts of the State. The sim- 
plest is the Justice's Court, wherein may be tried both 
civil and criminal cases of comparatively trivial char- 
acter or slight money value. Next above it is the 
County Court, having both original and appellate juris- 
diction. Here cases of much moment are tried. Some- 
times the county judge is assisted by two justices of the 
peace. The court then becomes a Court of Sessions, 
sitting for trial of cases brought up by indictment of 
the grand jury. Next, the Supreme Court of the State, 
holding its sessions in different parts of the State, 
making provision for trial of grave and capital crimes, 
hearing motions and appeals in special term, and ap- 



22 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW TOBK. 

peals only in general term. Highest of all, the Court 
of Appeals, possessing no original jurisdiction, but hav- 
ing power to reverse any decision of a lower court. It 
thus becomes a court of last resort. 



CHAPTER ni. 

LOCAL GOYEENMEKT. 

For purposes of convenience and of local administra- 
tion of government, the State is divided into counties, 
sixty in number. The chief officers of a County, 
elected by its voters, the time of holding office and the 
fees or salary being regulated by law, are, a judge (see 
table of Courts, and also paragraph relating to the 
Courts of the State), sheriff, county clerk, district- 
attorney, treasurer, coroners, board of supervisors 
school commissioners. 

Duties. 

The important place of the County Judg-e in our 

judicial system has already been intimated. It need 
only be added, as proof of it, that he has the deciding 
power in many cases too important to be left to the 
arbitrament of a justice's court — cases that, by his 
decisions, — if they are based upon good law and justice, 
— may be settled then and there, thus avoiding the 
delay and loss and cost all consequent upon appeal. 
The Sheriff is really the representative in the county 
of the executive power of the State. In so far as the 
execution of the judgments and sentences of the county 



LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 23 

court are concerned, he may be called tlie county gov- 
ernor. His term of office is three years, and he cannot 
serve two terms in succession. He is the peace-pre- 
server of the county, and hence has the power of arrest 
and the custody of all law-breakers. Although he is a 
governor, he is also a servant; as such he serves proc- 
esses of the court, summons its witnesses and its ju- 
rors, and enforces its mandates^ 

The County Clerk is the keeper of the valuable pub- 
lic records, papers, etc., of the county, and the registrar 
of deeds, mortgages, and other valuable documentary 
matter. He has many special duties, also, connected 
with the county court. Term, three years. 

The law-officer and legal adviser of the county, 
chosen for three years, is the District- Attorney : as 
the former, he prosecutes the breakers of the Law; as 
the latter, he gives legal information and advice to the 
grand jury. In very important trials he may call 
skilled lawyers to his aid, the county footing the bill. 

The Treasurer of the county is its financial agent, 
and he holds office for three years. He pays to the 
State the county tax; he receives from the State the 
money due to the county for school purposes, and 
hands the same to the various towns for distribution, 
through their respective supervisors, upon warrant of 
the various school commissioners. 

In most of the counties four Coroners are elected, 
once in three years. Theirs is the important duty of 
inquiring into the causes of deaths where such causes 
are obscure or open to suspicion. They have often 
proved to be efficient helpers to medical science, as 
well as valuable aids to police officers. 



24 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

One citizen from each town in the county, and one 
from each ward of a city, — that is the composition of 
the Board of Supervisors. It may well be called the 
local legislature, and it forms an excellent body for the 
transaction of home affairs. They — the supervisors — 
have authority to make tax-lists and collect taxes, to 
pass and enforce all needed regulations for care and 
management of all county property, to re-bound dis- 
tricts and towns, and to do many other things in the 
interest of the various subdivisions of the county. It 
is a good sign of the times -^ the tendency to transfer 
more and more power in local affairs from the State 
legislature, knowing and caring little about such mat- 
ters, to this local legislature, knowing and caring 
much. It is an annually chosen body. 

At least one School Commissioner — more commonly 
two or three — represents the interests of the public 
schools of the county. The term of office is three 
years. The commissioner is the educational executive 
of the county. He is to see that none but properly 
qualified persons teach; that old school buildings are 
kept in tolerable condition, and that all new buildings 
are constructed with due regard to sanitary science ; he 
must hold a teachers' institute once a year, at least, in 
his district, and must make annual report to the State 
superintendent of public instruction concerning all 
matters of educational import in his community. 

Our view of the county officers will be more complete 
when we add, that in many counties the judge performs 
also the chief duty of a surrogate, — that of admitting 
wills to probate; but as the Constitution provides that 
in counties having a population of over forty thousand 



LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 25 

a special officer may be appointed, the most populous 
counties have each a surrogate as well as a judge. 
Provision is also made for the election of Special 
County Judg^es and Special Surrogates. Thus, in 
1890, there were thirteen of the former, representing as 
many counties, and nine of the latter, for as many coun- 
ties. There are also three registers of deeds for the 
counties, respectively, of Kings, New York, and West- 
chester. They hold office for three years. County 
Superintendents of the Poor are commonly chosen by 
the people, but in several cases are appointed by the 
county board of supervisors, and in one instance, by the 
mayor and common council of a city. In New York 
County the superintendents are called Commissioners 
of Public Charities and Correction ; in Kings, Commis- 
sioners of Charities. These various differences in choos- 
ing and naming spring from differences in the various 
city charters granted by the legislature. The main 
duty of all these officers is to care for the poor, and to 
see that these poor are made a charge upon the town or 
place in which they have a legal abode. The governor 
and Senate are empowered to appoint two commission- 
ers from each county to see to the loaning of United 
States deposit funds. 

Perhaps no problem confronting the legislature 
to-day is so difficult as that of the Government of our 
Cities. More than forty j^ears have passed since the 
present State Constitution was adopted. During that 
time the increase of city population has been very rapid 
and very great. This has made needful increased ad- 
ministrative powers, so that now no session of the 
legislature goes by without calls from various cities 



26 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

for changes in their charters. Thus it comes about that 
our cities are the creations of constantly changing laws, 
rather than the natural outcome of a few simple consti- 
tutional principles. So complex has municipal gov- 
ernment become that we can only name here a few of 
the officers in use by the majority of our cities. For 
the sake of brevity, let us group them about a sort of 
municipal board. At the head is the Mayor, the chief 
executive officer of the city, possessing a veto power 
over the acts of those who are next to him ; the Alder- 
men, a body of men having power to tax citizens, erect 
public buildings, change or open streets, grant fran- 
chises, etc. ; and then come — the order is not material, 
nor is it needful specifically to define their duties — 
a Treasurer, Assessors, School Coimnissioners, Super- 
intendent of Schools, Tax Collector, Health Officers, 
City Attorney, Police ComniissionervS, a Superintend- 
ent of Police, and Excise Commissioners. A part of 
these officers are elective, the rest appointive. 

A few words will suffice for the Village. It is that 
part of a town which is quite compact in population as 
opposed to a sparsely settled countryside. There is a 
general law of the State under which it is incorporated, 
yet in matters of detail it is largely a law unto itself; 
that is to say, it may appoint or choose such officers as 
are needed to give to it efficient and adequate govern- 
ment. The executive head of the village is called its 
President. With him are commonly associated a Board 
of Trustees, a Clerk, Collector, Treasurer, Street Com- 
missioner, perhaps Police, Fire, and Health Depart- 
ments. Such an organization is a good illustration of 
the value and power of local self-government. 



LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 27 

The Town in New York State does not have the polit- 
ical importance which it holds in New England. Yet 
its government is much the same, theoretically; for it 
means, just as in New England, the government of the 
voters by themselves, for the good of all the citizens of 
the town. The regular town-meeting is held once a 
year, which day must be the same in all the towns of 
a county. On that day each voter is at liberty, if he 
pleases, to speak as well as vote his mind ; and he com- 
monly chooses such officers as these: Justices of the 
Peace, Town Clerk, Supervisors, Assessors, Collector, 
Overseers of the Poor, Highway and Excise Commis- 
sioners, Constables, and Auditors of Accounts. The 
duties of these officers may easily be surmised from the 
names themselves. Let it be added that the real im- 
portance of the town-meeting can hardly be overstated, 
though much in danger, in the great Commonwealth of 
New York, of being overlooked. It is the most accurate 
gauge possible of the general intelligence and honor of 
the community. 

In Conclusion. 

It may not be amiss in closing this brief analysis of 
the Constitution, of the workings of the State Govern- 
ment under it, and under the laws created by it, to say 
to the youth into whose hands this pamphlet may fall : 
How youthful soever you may be, you are citizens of the 
great Commonwealth of New York, — a State of whose 
history you may well be proud ; but proud with such a 
pride as can exist only as the result of much reading 
and study and thinking upon your part. And the fact 
that you are citizens, in the sense of being under the pro- 



28 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

tection of and subject to the law of the State, ought not 
a whit to lessen your devotion to the union of the States, 
— a Union in whose power and freedom you may well 
rejoice, for they have been made sure to you by manj^ a 
sacrifice in which your own State bore a most honorable 
and costly part. But this Union of which we speak, 
you can never really know and intelligently love with- 
out study of its history and principles. And so, to the 
end that you may duly know and appreciate the Union, 
and also the Empire State, neglect not the study of 
either! You will be pleasantly surprised to see how 
much of what is best in your State Government has 
been taken from or is identical with the Federal Con- 
stitution. Can it not be easily seen, therefore, how the 
study of government, from that of the school district or 
ward in which you live, on through village, town, city, 
and State, straight to the White House at Washington, 
may prove very pleasant and very profitable ? 

Again, in a very few years, the right of suffrage will 
be granted to many of you. Is it not well, therefore, 
tliat you early begin to prepare for the intelligent and 
honorable exercise of that right? Surely you do not 
want to be of that number upon whom such a sacred 
right is bestowed, simply because in the onward march 
of time you have attained to the legal requirements for 
its exercise! More and more, with the lengthening 
life and widening scope of our government, — local. 
State, national, — there is need for the casting of think- 
ing ballots ; and if you, the coming generation, are care- 
ful and competent to meet and supply that need through 
painstaking and patriotic study, haply in the days to 
come you may belong to that ideal nation, described by 



LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 29 

a famous English writer on government, where votes 
are weighed as well as counted. True, the ideal State 
may be very far off, but you can do something towards 
bringing it nigh. It may be very vague and shadowy, 
but you can do something towards making its outlines 
clearer. And one way of helping, we may suggest, is 
by study of the actual State^ — your own State of New 
York, — finding out the sources of its strength, and of 
its weakness as well; understanding and obeying its 
every good law; cherishing that spirit of patriotism 
which has made the history of the Empire State so true 
to its motto — Excelsior ! 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



027 272 202 A 




^m> 



^/'fMm^BM^; 



f^^f^a 



